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CUBA AND HEK PEOPLE OF TO-DAY 



Uniform with This Volome 

Panama'and the Canal • * . $3.00 

By Forbes Lindsay 

Cuba and Her People of To-day * . 3.00 
By Forbes Lindsay 

Brazil and Her People of To-day . . 3.00 

By Nevin O. Winter 
Guatemala and Her People of To-day . 3.00 

By Nevin O. Winter 
Mexico and Her People of To-day . 3.00 

By Nevin O. Winter 
Argentina and Her People of To-day . 3.00 

By Nevin O. Winter 
Bohemia and the Cechs . . . . 3.00 

By Will S. Monroe 
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By Peter MacQueen 

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 




A CTJBAJf COURTSHIP. 



(See parte 92.) 



m 



m 



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CUBA AND HER 

PEOPLE OF 

TO-DAY 



AN ACCOUNT OF THE 

HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF THE ISLAND 
PREVIOUS TO ITS INDEPENDENCE; A DE- 
SCRIPTION OF ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES: 
A STUDY OF ITS PEOPLE; AND, IN PAR- 
TICULAR, AN EXAMINATION OF ITS PRES- 
ENT POLITICAL CONDITIONS, ITS INDUS- 
TRIES, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND PROS- 
PECTS; TOGETHER WITH INFORMATION 
AND SUGGESTIONS DESIGNED TO AID 
THE PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR OR SETTLER 



JU*- 



gj .^ . 7 W^-^t: cxa^hby 

| k FORBES LINDSAY 

sj 

3j Author of " Panama and the Canal," etc. 



ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL AND SELECTED 
PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR 




>M 



BOSTON §«* 5» L. C. PAGE 
AND COMPANY £•» MDCCCCXI 



Ft 7 Li 

■F 



Copyright, 1911 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(INCOBPOBATED) 

All rights reserved 



First Impression, November, 1911 



//- 30055 



ElectrotypedandPrintedby 
THE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. Simonds & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 



©CLA30O695 



-^ 



Ibenrg dR, fflagler, Esquire, 

WHOSE INDOMITABLE ENERGY AND SPLENDID ENTERPRISE WILL 

SHORTLY BRING CUBA INTO RAILROAD COMMUNICATION 

WITH THE UNITED STATES, THIS VOLUME IS 

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, AS A 

SLIGHT TOKEN OF THE 

ADMIRATION OF THE 

AUTHOR. 



PREFACE 



So many volumes have been devoted to ac- 
counts of the history and descriptions of the 
physical features of Cuba, that an adequate 
excuse could hardly be found for an addition 
to them. On the other hand, the more impor- 
tant considerations of the Island's natural re- 
sources, industrial development and present 
condition of its people, have had but scanty 
attention at the hands of writers. 

During the past decade there has been a 
great increase in American emigration to Cuba 
and in the investment of American money 
there, with the result that the interest of our 
people in the country, which was formerly of 
an abstract character, has become practical 
and specific. There exists in the United States 
a wide-spread desire for information regard- 
ing the progress, prospects and present-day 
conditions of Cuba, which it has been my chief 
design to supply. 



Vlll 



Preface 



In the following pages the history and geog- 
raphy of the country have been sketched with 
special reference to their essential influence 
upon its development. Aside from this neces- 
sary introduction to an understanding of 
Cuban affairs, I have given my attention 
mainly to the established and prospective in- 
dustries of the Island and to the fields offered 
by them to American capital and American 
settlers. Foebes Lindsay. 

Santiago de Cuba, August, 1911. 



CONTENTS 



♦ 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface . . . vii 

I. The Island of Cuba ...... 1 

II. The History of Cuba 22 

III. The History of Cuba (Continued) ... 43 

IV. Cuba in Transition 63 

V. The People of the Country 83 

VI. The People of the Country (Continued) . . 102 

VII. The Condition of Cuba 120 

VIII. The Future of Cuba 147 

IX. Cuba's Sugar Industry 166 

X. Cuba's Tobacco Industry 185 

XI. Cuba's Mineral Resources 200 

XII. Latent Agricultural Wealth .... 216 

XIII. Future Farming in Cuba 231 

XIV. The Capital of Cuba . . . . . . 249 

XV. The Provinces of Cuba 263 

Appendices • . 279 

Index 325 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

A Cuban Courtship (See page 92) . . Frontispiece 

Map of Cuba 1 

River Scene, Isle of Pikes 2 

The Famous Palms of Camaguey 7 '• 

A Street in Santiago de Cuba . . . .10 

" Over thirty species of palm are found in the 

Island" 12 






President's Palace, Habana 18 

Bayamo 28 

The Prado, Habana 36 

The Water - front, Habana 46 ^ 

Mountain Road in the Province of Oriente . . 52 
View of Baire, near Bayamo, from the Cuban 

Trenches . . .66 

Street Scene, Santiago de Cuba 75 

Morro Castle from Central Park, Habana . . .83 
Country Homes of Wealthy Cubans . . . . 89 *-' 
" Her world is contained in the town of which she 

is resident " 96 

Young Cane - field, with Banana Grove in the Dis- 
tance 100 

A Narrow Street, Habana 109 ' 

A Cuban Milkman 114 

Sugar - cane ready for Cutting 122 *" 

An Ideal Road for the Motorist 124 

An Avenue of Palms 128 v 

xi 



xii List of Illustrations 



PAGE 



Street Scene, Habana 143 

A Guajiro's Shack 150 *\ 

General View of Jiguani 158 

Harvesting the Cane . 166 

Central Providencia 170 

Transferring Cane and Automatically Weighing It 176 

Grinding Sugar - cane 183 

Well - developed Tobacco Plants 186 

Hundreds of Acres of Tobacco under Cover . . . 194 ' 

A Tobacco Field after Harvesting 198 

Santiago de Cuba 208 

A Street in Jiguani 214 ^ 

Gathering Cocoanuts 224 

Pineapple Field '. . 226 

Breadfruit 229 

Hemp Field above Matanzas 230 

Orange Tree . . 234 v 

" A sugar plantation of fifteen hundred acres will 

need about three hundred oxen " . . . 237 

Hotel Camaguey 240 

A Road in the Province of Oriente .... 246 

Map of the City of Habana 249 

La Fuerza, Habana 250 

Obispo Street, Habana 255 ' 

The Cathedral, Habana 259 

Fort San Severino, Matanzas 268 

Parlor, Hotel Camaguey 271 

Manzanillo 273 



The Docks and Warehouses of Antilla . . . 275 



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CUBA AND HER PEOPLE 
OF TO-DAY 



CHAPTER I 

THE ISLAND OP CUBA 

If a line were drawn directly south from 
Pittsburg it would almost pass through the 
middle of Cuba. The Island, which is the larg- 
est of the Antillean group, lies about fifty miles 
distant from Santo Domingo and somewhat 
more than eighty miles from Jamaica. Its 
western end nuzzles into the opening between 
the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan, Key 
West being ninety miles from, and the nearest 
point of Campeche within one hundred and 
thirty miles of Cape San Antonio. This situa- 
tion gives to Cuba a commanding position in 
relation to the Gulf of Mexico, the only pas- 
sages to that body of water lying on either side 
of the Island. The strategic advantage of the 
location is highly important, but of less consid- 

1 



2 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



eration than the commercial advantage. Cuba 
lies directly in the line of the trade routes con- 
verging upon the Tehuantepec Eailroad and the 
Panama Canal. 

The Island is a narrow strip of land, little 
more than one hundred miles across in its 
broadest portion and only about twenty miles 
at its narrowest. From Cape Maisi to Cape 
San Antonio the length of the outer coast line 
is seven hundred and thirty miles. In the ab- 
sence of a precise survey, figures are uncertain, 
and estimates vary, but it is probable that the 
territory of the Republic, which includes the 
Isle of Pines and a number of outlying cayos, 
is somewhat less than forty-five thousand 
square miles in extent ; an area slightly greater 
than that of the State of Pennsylvania. 

The upper side of the Island forms a broad 
converse curve, with a northerly trend. It is 
broken by few marked irregularities. The 
southern coast takes a corresponding curve and 
in general parallels the other shore. It differs, 
however, in having several pronounced inden- 
tations, the largest of which are the Golfo de 
Buena Esperanza and the Golfo de la Broa. 
Along this periphery are found four or five of 
those peculiar pouch-like harbors which, to- 



The Island of Cuba 



gether with numerous coral reefs and islands 
of varying dimensions that fringe the shore 
line, are the most notable features of the Cuban 
coast. These cayos, or keys, fall into four dis- 
tinct groups and number about one thousand 
three hundred. The principal line of these low 
lying islands extends from the Ensenado de 
Cardenas to the vicinity of Nuevitas, and in- 
cludes Cayo Romano, seventy-four miles in 
length. The second line runs from Bahia 
Honda to Cape San Antonio. The third, which 
is the most numerous, forms a scattered group 
between the Isle of Pines and the mainland. 
The fourth, known as Cayos de las Doce Le- 
guas, lies off the coast of Camaguey. 

The Isle of Pines is distant sixty miles from 
Batabano, which is the point of communication 
with the mainland. Its area is about twelve 
hundred square miles. The northern shores of 
Cuba are generally characterized by rocky 
bluffs, which frequently rise to a height of sev- 
eral hundred feet. The littoral of the western 
bend is low, and this feature prevails along the 
south to Cape Cruz, with the exception of a 
rugged stretch of about fifty miles to the east 
of Cienfuegos. Save for this strip, the shore 
from Cape San Antonio to the mouth of the 



4 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Cauto is lined with marsh of varying depth. 
The protuberant piece of land between the 
bight of the Broa and Bahia de Gochinos is 
entirely occupied by the great Zapata swamp, 
which has an area of more than two hundred 
square miles. It is an almost impenetrable 
tropical jungle of the densest vegetation, teem- 
ing with animal life. This wilderness has often 
afforded a safe refuge to defeated and harassed 
bands of insurrectos. Along the eastern butt of 
the island the coast is mountainous. 

Topographically, the territory of Cuba com- 
prises five distinct divisions, three of them dis- 
tinctly mountainous, and two in which the sur- 
face is low, or of moderate relief. The eastern- 
most of these divisions coincides closely to the 
boundaries of the Province of Oriente and is 
for the greater part mountainous. The second, 
corresponding approximately with the Prov- 
ince of Camaguey, is made up of plains or open 
rolling country, relieved by occasional hills. 
The third division includes the mountainous 
and hilly sections of Santa Clara. The fourth 
consists of a long stretch of flat or undulating 
country, accentuated here and there by eleva- 
tions of several hundred feet; it includes the 
western portion of Santa Clara Province and 



The Island of Cuba 



the whole of the Provinces of Matanzas and 
Habana, as well as about one-fourth of the 
Province of Pinar del Eio at its eastern end. 
The fifth division takes in the greater part of 
the last-named Province, and is characterized 
by a well defined mountain range, with numer- 
ous detached hills and mesas. A clearer con- 
ception of the surface conformation of Cuba 
may be gained by a more detailed survey of 
its mountains and plains, without regard to the 
natural topographic divisions described. 

The Province of Oriente contains a greater 
mountainous area than is to be found in all the 
rest of the Island. The system consists of sev- 
eral groups having diverse constructures, but 
more or less closely connected with one another. 
Here many peaks exceed five thousand feet and 
one, Pico Turquino, rises to an altitude of over 
eight thousand feet. The principal range is the 
Sierra Maestra, extending from Cape Cruz to 
Guantanamo Bay. Along its western end, this 
chain rises abruptly out of the seas, but as it 
approaches Santiago, recedes somewhat from 
the shore, leaving a narrow coastal plain. East 
of Guantanamo there is a range, much less un- 
broken and uniform than the Sierra Madre, 
which continues to Cape Maisi and thence along 



6 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

the north coast until it meets the rugged Cu- 
chillas at Baraeoa. Extending westward from 
this mountain mass are strings of high plateaus 
and mesas, forming the northern wall of the 
great amphitheatre which drains into Guanta- 
namo Bay. In this northern section the most 
prominent feature of the system is the range 
comprising the Sierras Cristal and Nipe, whose 
general trend is east and west. To the south 
is a country having the character of a deeply 
dissected plateau. The broad, flat topped sum- 
mits of so many elevations in the eastern part 
of Cuba lead to the belief that all the mountains 
in this section have been carved from a huge 
lofty plateau. Considered as a whole, there- 
fore, the mountains of Oriente form two mar- 
ginal ranges which merge at the east end of the 
Province and diverge toward the west. Be- 
tween these divergent ranges lies the broad, 
undulating expanse famous as the valley of the 
Cauto, which widens as it stretches westward 
and ultimately merges with the more extensive 
plains of Camaguey. 

The central mountainous region of Cuba is 
situated in the Province of Santa Clara. This 
system consists of four groups having a gen- 
eral direction toward north and south and at 




THE FAMOUS PALMS OF CAMAGUEY. 



The Island of Cuba 



points reaching both coasts. In the area be- 
tween Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Sancti Spiri- 
tus is an extensive cluster of rounded hills, 
dominated by Potrerillo, nearly three thousand 
feet high, and interspersed with the most beau- 
tiful and fertile valleys. 

The Cordillera de los Organos, or Organ 
Mountains, run almost along the middle line of 
the Province of Pinar del Eio, paralleling the 
northern coast. The range commences about 
twenty miles to the west of the boundary of 
Habana Province and extends to the estuary of 
the Colorado, thus traversing three-fourths of 
Pinar del Rio. 

The greater part of the Province of Cama- 
guey is free from hills. The principal eleva- 
tions are found in the north-eastern portion, 
where the Sierra de Cubitas is situated. 

Aside from the mountains and hills de- 
scribed, the general surface of Cuba is a low, 
gently undulating plain. The elevations of 
some of the principal interior cities are as fol- 
lows: Pinar del Rio, one hundred and three 
feet above sea level; Cuevitas, ninety-eight 
feet ; Camaguey, three hundred and twenty- 
four feet; Santa Clara, three hundred and 
forty feet. 



8 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Except in the southeast corner of Oriente, 
the streams of Cuba all follow a normal course 
to the coast. Owing to the shape of the Island, 
therefore, none of them has any considerable 
length or volume, nor are any navigable with 
the exception of the Cauto, which permits of 
the passage of light draft boats to a distance of 
fifty miles from its mouth. 

Cuba is noted for its spacious land-locked 
harbors. Their extraordinary lake-like forma- 
tion has been the subject of many more or less 
fanciful explanations. The following state- 
ment of Dr. C. W. Hayes, of the U. S. Geolog- 
ical Survey, seems to fully account for the 
phenomenon : 

" The depressions occupied by the water 
forming these harbors appear to be due to ero- 
sion by streams flowing into the sea during a 
recent geologic period when the land stood 
somewhat higher than now. In other words, 
drowned drainage basins. Their peculiar 
shape, a narrow seaward channel and a broad 
landward expansion, is due to the relation of 
hard and soft rocks which generally prevail 
along the coast. Wherever the conditions are 
favorable for the growth of corals, a fringing 
reef is built upon whatever rocks happen to be 



The Island of Cuba 9 

at sea level, and as the land rises or sinks this 
rock reef forms a veneer of varying thickness 
upon the seaward land surface. The rocks on 
which this veneer rests are generally lime- 
stones and marls, much softer and more easily 
eroded than coral rock. Hence several small 
streams, instead of each flowing directly to the 
sea by its own channel, are diverted to a single 
narrow channel through the hard coral rock, 
while they excavate a basin of greater or less 
extent in the softer rocks back from the coast. 

" The fact that the land has recently stood 
at a sufficiently higher level to enable the 
streams to excavate such basins is proven by 
the sandfilled channel in the Habana harbor 
entrance and by borings made near the mouth 
of the Rio San Juan at Santiago, showing that 
the present rock floor lies below the level of the 
sea. Doubtless similar filled channels would be 
discovered in the other harbors of this class if 
they were properly sounded. 

"It is interesting to note that along the 
Cuban coast precisely similar basins are now 
being excavated which would form pouch- 
shaped harbors if the land should be slightly 
depressed. Several such basins were observed 
eastward from Santiago. If the coast at Ma- 



io Cuba and Her People of To-day 

tanzas were to sink thirty feet or more, a por- 
tion of the Yumuri valley would be flooded, 
forming a broad basin connected with the sea 
by a narrow entrance, the present Yumuri 
Gorge. ' ' 

The chief harbors of the type in question are 
those of Habana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de 
Cuba. Other important harbors, more or less 
of the same formation, are Bahia Honda, Nue- 
vitas, Gibara, Nipe Bay and Baracoa. Matan- 
zas and Cardenas are exceptions. By far the 
greater number of good harbors are on the 
north coast. On the south, aside from those 
which have already been mentioned, Guanta- 
namo Bay is the only one of consequence. 
Other harbors on this side of the Island, such 
as Manzanillo and Batabano are merely open 
roadsteads, generally lacking in depth, and se- 
curing more or less shelter from outlying keys 
and reefs. 

Cuba was reclaimed from the sea by a great 
mountain-making movement in late tertiary 
time. During the Pliocene and Pleistocene 
epochs the Island underwent a series of sub- 
sidences and elevations which affected the 
coastal borders, and the margin of elevated 
rock-reef which borders the coast in parts, as 




A STREET IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA. 



The Island of Cuba n 

in the vicinities of Habana and Baracoa. So 
far as its geologic history is known, the Island 
was never connected with the American main- 
land, although the contrary assertion has fre- 
quently been made. 

No thorough geological survey of Cuba has 
ever been made, but there is every evidence of 
its containing rich deposits of minerals, inclu- 
ding gold, silver, copper, iron, manganese, and 
asphalt. Traces of minerals are found exten- 
sively throughout the Island. Oriente Province 
is the first in mineral wealth, followed by Cama- 
guey. In Santa Clara, indications of copper 
are seen on every hand. The ore is commonly 
turned up by the plow upon the hillsides. As- 
phalt is found in widely scattered localities all 
over the Island. The northern coast of the 
Province of Matanzas appears to be entirely 
underlaid with it, and the Bay of Cardenas is 
bottomed by a deposit which used to be worked 
by vessels anchored over it. The Cuban as- 
phalt is of a high grade, a considerable propor- 
tion of it containing as much as seventy per 
cent, bitumen. Grahamite, a mineral of the 
same species as asphalt, but classed as pure 
bitumen, is found in Habana Province and 
other parts of the Island. The only mineral 



12 Cu ba and Her People of To-day 

resource that is at all adequately exploited is 
iron. The mines of Oriente, which are famous, 
will be referred to more extensively in a later 
portion of the book. 

Vegetation is superlatively abundant in 
Cuba. The flora includes three thousand three 
hundred and fifty native plants, not to mention 
the considerable number that have been natu- 
ralized. The trees embrace a variety of hard- 
woods. Over thirty species of palm are found 
in the Island, and the pine of the temperate 
zone grows in proximity to the mahogany of 
the tropics. The forest has been recklessly ex- 
ploited or destroyed, but it is estimated that 
thirteen million acres of it remain. 

Practically all the fruits and vegetables of 
the tropics flourish in the Island and many of 
those characteristic of the temperate regions. 
Various kinds of fodder grasses grow through- 
out the valley lands. 

The only distinctive animal of Cuba is the 
jutia, a black animal having the appearance of 
a large rat. It grows to a length of eighteen 
inches, including the tail. The country people 
eat this creature, as they do all other animals 
and reptiles that come in their way. 

Deer and rabbits are abundant wherever 



The Island of Cuba 13 

cover exists. Swine, dogs and cats have be- 
come wild and are numerous in that condition. 
There is a variety of game birds, some migra- 
tory, bnt most permanent denizens of the 
Island. The principal kinds are wild fowl of 
different species, pheasants, quail, snipe, tur- 
key, perdis, tijasas, rabiches, and quanaros. 
The native birds include many of the most 
beautiful plumage, but songsters are rare 
among them. 

In swampy localities crocodiles and alliga- 
tors are found. Diminutive silurians, such as 
chameleons and small lizards, swarm every- 
where, and occasionally iguanas and the larger 
lizards are seen. It is frequently claimed that 
no poisonous reptiles or insects exist in Cuba, 
but this statement admits of some qualifica- 
tions. There is no doubt that certain scorpions 
and spiders, as well probably as a few other 
insects, are venomous. The snakes, of which 
there are but few varieties, appear to be harm- 
less to mankind. One of these, the maja, which 
grows to about twelve feet, is almost tame and 
frequents small villages and farmhouses, its 
favorite dwelling place being the palm-thatch 
roofs of abandoned buildings. The climate of 
Cuba is chiefly characterized by great humidity, 



u Cuba and Her People of To-day 

abundant rainfall, and comparative uniformity 
of temperature. The range between the mean 
of the hottest month and that of the coolest is 
from 82 degrees to 71 degrees Fahrenheit. 
While this statement applies precisely to 
Habana it is approximately true of other parts 
of the Island. It is a little warmer along the 
south coast than upon the north, which is swept 
by the trade winds throughout the year. The 
mean humidity is 75 degrees and is nearly uni- 
form throughout the year. This makes the cli- 
mate enervating, especially to foreigners. 
There is no great difference between the 
" summer " and the " winter " seasons, but 
during the latter, which embraces the six 
months following the first of November, the 
weather is delightful and the heat seldom op- 
pressive. The mean annual rainfall upon the 
northern coast is fifty-two inches. Inland and 
through the southern portion of the Island it 
is somewhat less. About two-thirds of the pre- 
cipitation occurs between May and October. 
During this season intermittent showers fall 
from about ten o 'clock until sunset. The nights 
are usually cool and clear at all times of the 
year. 
In strict meteorological sense Cuba is not 



The Island of Cuba 15 

within the hurricane zone, which lies somewhat 
to the east of it. Nevertheless, the Island has 
been not infrequently visited by such storms 
and some of them have occasioned great dam- 
age. The worst visitation of this sort happened 
in 1846, when more than one-fourth of the city 
of Habana was destroyed and upwards of one 
thousand persons killed or severely injured. 
Although in a region subject to severe earth- 
quakes, and itself not infrequently visited by 
shocks of alarming violence, the Island has 
never been seriously damaged by seismic dis- 
turbances. In winter, when the trades take a 
southerly sweep, ' ' northers, ' ' bred in the great 
storms of the United States, are apt to strike 
the Island, sometimes lowering the temperature 
suddenly to 50 degrees, or thereabouts. The 
result is keen, if brief, suffering, for the people 
make little provision in their clothing or sur- 
roundings for such low temperature. 

Immense improvement has been made in the 
health of the cities since the beginning of the 
American occupation. Yellow fever, at one 
time endemic, has been eradicated and can 
never occur again, except in the form of a 
sporadic outbreak due to importation of the 
virus. Malaria has been measurably reduced, 



16 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

but much more might be done toward stamping 
it out, or minimizing it. 

The mortality in Habana is 18.80 per thou- 
sand, and that of the Island in general, 12.69. 
The former is considerably lower than the 
prevalent rates of the large cities of the United 
States. Of all the countries of the world, Aus- 
tralia is the only one whose death rate (12.60) 
is lower than that of Cuba. It may be of inter- 
est to add the figures of some of the other lead- 
ing nations; Uruguay 13.40; United States 
15.00; Belgium 15.20; Norway and Sweden 
15.85; Denmark 16.40; England 17.70; Ger- 
many 17.80; Switzerland 18.20; France 20.60; 
Austria 24.40; Japan 28.80; Italy 29.20; Spain 
29.70. 

The population of Cuba is a trifle in excess 
of two millions, giving about forty-five inhabit- 
ants to the square mile, a density much greater 
than that enjoyed by any other Latin- American 
country. Even though the population should 
remain chiefly agrarian, as at present, the ex- 
tent and resources of the country are ample to 
support three times the existing number of in- 
habitants in comfort and prosperity. If manu- 
facturing centres of magnitude should grow up 
in response to conditions favorable to their 



The Island of Cuba 17 

development, Cuba will easily afford homes and 
occupation to ten millions of people. 

Seventy per cent, of the population live in 
the country or in centres of fewer than eight 
thousand inhabitants. The sexes are almost 
equally divided and, according to the census, 
the colored race represents no more than one- 
third of the whole. The national government 
of the Eepublic of Cuba is patterned on that of 
the United States, as is the case in most coun- 
tries of Latin- America. It is divided into three 
coordinate branches, the legislative, the execu- 
tive and judicial. The legislative power is 
vested in the Congress, consisting of two 
branches, the House of Representatives and the 
Senate. The former consists of sixty-four 
members — one for every twenty-five thousand 
inhabitants, or fractions thereof — who are 
elected for four years. The latter is composed 
of four senators from each province, elected for 
a period of four years by a board of electors, 
chosen by popular vote. The Congress has two 
regular sessions annually, one convening on 
the first Monday of April and the other on the 
first Monday of November. 

The executive power is vested in the Presi- 
dent, who is elected by electors and may not 



18 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
serve more than two consecutive terms. The 
Chief Executive is assisted by a cabinet, con- 
sisting of six members, who are known as the 
secretaries of the following departments: 
State; Justice; Public Instruction; Agricul- 
ture; Industry and Commerce; and Public 
Works. These positions are subject to appoint- 
ment by the President. There is also a Vice- 
President elected in the same manner and for 
a like period as the President. 

The judicial power is exercised by a supreme 
court; six superior courts, one for each prov- 
ince ; seven courts of the first instance, devoted 
to civil cases; six courts of instruction, pre- 
sided over by criminal judges; twenty-six 
judges of the first instance and instruction; 
who have a combined jurisdiction; six correc- 
tional courts, in which minor civil suits and 
misdemeanors are tried. There is in each 
province a governor and a provisional council, 
elected by direct suffrage. The provinces are 
divided into municipal districts, each presided 
over by a mayor, assisted by a council. 

The commercial code in force is that of 
Spain, with some modifications that were ef- 
fected by the provisional government during 
the intervention of the United States. The 



The Island of Cuba 19 

laws concerning contracts, debts, and other 
matters of general business, are full and ex- 
plicit, and give all necessary protection to for- 
eigners dealing with natives of the country. 
Those relating to land, titles, and taxes, will be 
more fully noticed elsewhere in this volume. 

The regular army of Cuba, known as the 
" Ejercito Permanente," consists of three 
thousand two hundred enlisted men and one 
hundred and seventy-two commissioned officers. 
This force comprises infantry, coast artillery, 
field artillery, and a machine gun corps. Its 
general headquarters is at Camp Columbia, 
near Habana. 

The maintenance of law and order in the 
country districts, and safety on the public high- 
ways, is entrusted to an exceptionally fine body 
of mounted police, called the " Eural Guard," 
numbering five thousand two hundred and 
ninety-five men and officers. These men con- 
stantly patrol their respective districts and 
render excellent service. 

The so-called Cuban " Navy " consists of a 
few vessels of revenue cutter type. It must be 
many years before the Eepublic can afford 
even the smallest fleet of war-ships. Without 
such protection it is difficult to see the value of 



20 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

her army, unless it be in the suppression of 
revolution and, perhaps, the repression of pop- 
ular will. 

The mail system of the Island is fairly good, 
the distribution being effected by railroad, 
coastwise steamers, automobiles and, in remote 
districts, by horses. In Habana, motor cars 
are employed in making collections. Deliveries 
are made by carriers in the same manner as in 
the cities of the United States. Cuba has postal 
conventions with the United States, Mexico, 
the Panama Canal Zone, Hawaii, and the Phil- 
ippines. . The letter rate between Cuba and any 
one of these countries is two cents and package 
postage the same as in the States. The Eepub- 
lic has parcel-post treaties with France and 
Germany only, but it extends to the United 
States the privileges enjoyed by those countries 
under their formal agreements. 

The Government maintains and operates the 
telegraph system, which extends throughout 
its territory. The rates are twenty cents for 
all messages of ten words or less which trav- 
erse no more than three provinces, and two 
cents for each additional word, the address and 
signature being charged for. If four provinces 
are touched in the transmission, the rate is 



The Island of Cuba 21 

thirty cents, and three cents for each additional 
word; if five provinces, it is forty cents, and 
fonr cents for excess words; and if the tele- 
gram is sent from one end of the Island to the 
other, or enters the limits of the six provinces, 
the rate is fifty cents, and five cents for each 
additional word. 



CHAPTER II 

THE HISTOEY OF CUBA 

Strangely enough, in view of the number of 
books that have been written about Cuba, there 
is no adequate history of the Island in the Eng- 
lish language — none that may be justly 
deemed comprehensive and trustworthy. Many 
important events in the life of the country have 
never been properly recorded and much that is 
of great interest still reposes undisturbed in 
scattered documents. A candid account could 
hardly be expected of a Spaniard or a Cuban, 
but it might be supposed that an American 
would treat the subject with impartial fairness. 
None however has done so, thus far. A recent 
effort by a prominent educator is typical of the 
books on Cuba which are designed for the use 
of students in our schools and elsewhere. By 
the author in question the Spaniards are un- 
stintingly condemned and the Americans un- 
qualifiedly praised. The Cubans are portrayed 
as heroic embodiments of all the virtues. Our 

22 



c" 



The History of Cuba 23 

successes in the Spanish American War are 
described as brilliant victories. In short, the 
most distorted impression of the facts is con- 
veyed. 

This condition is regrettable because a true 
understanding of any people and their country 
must be based upon intelligent knowledge of 
their history, and this is peculiarly so in the 
case of Cuba and the Cubans. 

Even though he had the ability to remedy the 
defect, the limits and design of the present 
volume would preclude the writer from making 
the attempt in its pages. The brief historical 
sketch given here, must be made entirely sec- 
ondary to the main purpose of presenting a 
picture of the Island and its inhabitants as they 
are to-day, and of taking a survey of the eco- 
nomic conditions affecting them. The follow- 
ing account is restricted mainly to such phases 
of the country's history as have had permanent 
influence on the character, customs and welfare 
of the people. 

Upon discovering the Island of Cuba, Colum- 
bus named it Juana, in honor of Prince Juan, 
the son of Ferdinand and Isabella. On the 
death of Ferdinand, Velasquez substituted the 
name Ferdinandina. The Island was subse- 



24 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

quently called Santiago, after the patron saint 
of Spain, and still later, Ave Maria. Through 
all these changes of official style the natives re- 
tained the name Cuba, by which their country 
had been known before the advent of white 
men, and the Indian appellation was soon 
adopted by the aliens. 

The Indians whom Columbus found upon the 
Island were of gentle disposition and peaceful 
by inclination and practice. The nine divisions 
of the country were governed without friction 
by as many caciques, independent of one an- 
other and equal in rank. The people rendered 
them unquestioned obedience and were accus- 
tomed to an autocratic rule. Hospitality was 
an universal trait and the invaders were made 
free of the land without the slightest opposi- 
tion. Furthermore, these Indians accepted 
baptism and the doctrines of Christianity more 
readily than any others with whom the Span- 
iards came into contact. 

But for one condition, the factors were pres- 
ent for the peaceful subjugation and govern- 
ment of the aborigines. The obstructive ele- 
ment was found in the constitutional aversion 
of the natives to physical exertion in any un- 
necessary degree. Their soil responded gen- 



The History of Cuba 25 

erously to the slightest appeal in the form of 
casual cultivation, and the materials for their 
scanty clothing might be gathered without 
trouble. They had never experienced any need 
to work and their climate was conducive to 
careless indolence. No doubt their habit of life 
had produced weakness and lack of stamina. 
Thus disinclination grew into disability. Flac- 
cid muscles and unused limbs caused appar- 
ently strong and robust men to faint and fall 
under tasks which we would consider an ordi- 
nary day's labor. 

The Spanish adventurers, who found the na- 
tives in possession of nuggets of gold and rude 
ornaments fashioned from the precious metal, 
set them the onerous task of mining. They 
perceived the aversion of the Indians to labor, 
but could not comprehend their inability. El 
execrable sed d'ore prompted them to the 
commission of pitiless barbarities in the 
effort to force the slaves to increased exer- 
tion. 

Under this treatment the natives died in 
great numbers. A few feeble attempts at 
armed resistance hastened the end. In an in- 
credibly short time, if we are to accept the most 
reliable estimates of the number of the aborig- 



26 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

inal population, the male Indians were com- 
pletely exterminated. 

It is impossible to say with any degree of 
precision how many inhabitants the Island of 
Cuba contained at the time of its discovery. 
Las Casas and Peter Martyr are led into exag- 
geration by their righteous indignation at the 
cruelties of their countrymen. Their figures 
are highly improbable. If the native popula- 
tion at the time the Spaniards first settled 
in the country is estimated at half a million 
there is little likelihood of undershooting the 
mark. 

Oviado declares that in 1535 — less than fifty 
years after the discovery — there were fewer 
than five hundred Indians left within the bor- 
ders of the Island. Among this remnant fe- 
males were largely in predominence. They had 
not been subjected to the same extremes of 
hardships and cruelty as had the males, and 
many of the Spaniards had taken native women 
under their protection as concubines. This con- 
dition led to the perpetuation of the Indian 
blood after the last of the pure bred aborigines 
had disappeared. To-day, one meets, on rare 
occasions, a Cuban peasant whose appearance 
suggests Indian ancestry, but the strain practi- 



The History of Cuba 27 

cally died out long ago, and has left no impres- 
sion on the Cuban character or customs. 

Cases in which the aboriginal stock is sug- 
gested are more frequently encountered at the 
eastern end of the Island than elsewhere, and 
a plausible explanation might be found in the 
fact that its wild mountainous recesses would 
have afforded safe retreat to such of the In- 
dians who may have fled there from the perse- 
cutions of the whites. In this way it is possible 
that a small number of the natives may have 
survived for a considerable period after official 
knowledge of their existence had ceased. 

Some years ago, at Holguin, a youth was 
pointed out to me, who exhibited in features, 
skull formation, and complexion, marked re- 
semblance to an Indian type. The padre, who 
had drawn my attention to the young man, 
scoffed at my suggestion of accident, and de- 
clared his conviction that it was a pronounced 
case of atavism. 

The first permanent settlement of the Span- 
iards upon the Island of Cuba was made at 
Baracoa, in 1512. At its head was Captain 
Diego Velasquez, who, until his death in 1524, 
continued to rule Cuba, as Adelantado, under 
direct responsibility to the Governor and An- 



28 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

dencia of Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo. He 
had five successors in this office. The first 
governor, appointed by and immediately an- 
swerable to the Crown, was Hernando de Soto. 
The line of captains-general began with Don 
Gabriel de Lujan, who assumed the post in 1581. 

In 1514, Velasquez founded the towns of 
Trinidad and Santiago, for the purpose of 
facilitating communication with Jamaica, and 
established settlements at Remedios, Bayamo, 
Puerto Principe, Sancti-Spiritus, and San 
Cristobal de la Habana, the last named being 
located where the town of Batabano now 
stands. Five years later, the name of Habana 
was transferred to a small settlement on the 
spot where the capital now stands. 

Baracoa was the first bishopric and seat of 
government. In 1522 Santiago became the 
centre of both civil and ecclesiastical jurisdic- 
tion, and in 1552 the capital was established at 
Habana. 

The settlement of Cuba proceeded slowly. 
During the hundred years following its discov- 
ery, only two towns were founded in addition 
to those which have been mentioned, namely, 
Guanabacoa and El Cobre. In the seventeenth 
century but two more of any importance came 



r^. 



The History of Cuba 29 

into existence, these being Matanzas and Santa 
Clara. Nine more were created in the course 
of the next century. At the close of this period 
the Island contained about two hundred and 
fifty thousand inhabitants, while the develop- 
ment of its natural resources can scarcely be 
said to have begun. 

The backwardness of the colony was not due 
to lack of energy on the part of the Spaniards, 
who in the days of the conquistador es displayed 
that quality in a remarkable degree. A combi- 
nation of conditions, some of them entirely be- 
yond the control of the settlers, retarded the 
development of the Island. A large proportion 
of the first comers were transients, staying for 
a while, but responding ultimately to the 
greater allurements of the mainland. Their 
object was gold, and in this respect Cuba 
proved disappointing. After a while the large 
landed proprietors, who had received royal 
grants, began to raise cattle and to breed 
horses. For some time large quantities of 
meat and mounts for the troops were shipped 
to Terra Firma. But this source of profit ex- 
pired toward the close of the sixteenth century, 
when the continental settlements became able 
to supply their own needs in these respects. At 



30 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

this period the cultivation of tobacco and sugar- 
cane was introduced. At the outset these in- 
dustries suffered from a paucity of labor, and 
a royal license was obtained for the importation 
of negroes from Africa. The shipment of the 
blacks in large numbers to the Island continued 
until, toward the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, their proportional place in the population 
became a source of grave anxiety to the author- 
ities. The successful revolt of their race in 
Haiti and the abolitionary agitation throughout 
the civilized world created unrest among the 
slaves in Cuba. Although there was no organ- 
ized uprising, frequent mutinies occurred in 
different parts of the Island. The most cruel 
measures of repression were put into force, 
with the result of cowing the negroes for a 
while. It is probable however, that only the 
growth of the revolutionary movement pre- 
vented a general uprising of the blacks in Cuba 
before their emancipation, which was officially 
decreed in 1887. 

The population of the Island in 1846 was 
about nine hundred thousand. More than half 
of the number were negroes, three-fourths of 
them slaves. According to the latest official 
figures, less than thirty per cent, of the present 



The History of Cuba 31 

population are colored. How has the propor- 
tion sunk so greatly in sixty-five years ? Where 
have the negroes gone? What has become of 
their children? 

A writer in a volume on " Cuba," issued by 
the United States Bureau of the Census, states : 
" The diminution of the proportion of colored 
inhabitants during the last half century is 
doubtless but another illustration of the inabil- 
ity of the colored race to hold its own in com- 
petition with the whites, a truth which is being 
demonstrated on a much larger scale in the 
United States." 

This is not at all convincing. The negroes 
have not been to any appreciable degree sub- 
jected to competition in Cuba. The climate 
and latter-day conditions are altogether favor- 
able to their survival and increase. Two official 
reports indicate that they held their own under 
the more arduous life of slavery. 

We must look for an explanation elsewhere, 
and the most plausible seems to be that there 
is a much greater distribution of negro blood 
in Cuba than the statistics indicate. The enu- 
merators who took the census under our mili- 
tary occupation acknowledged the difficulty of 
distinguishing among a people whose prevail- 



32 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ing physical characteristics are dark skin and 
black hair, and expressed their suspicion that 
a large number of those who returned them- 
selves as " whites " had negro blood in their 
veins. Those who have lived long and travelled 
extensively in Cuba, generally entertain the 
opinion that the proportion of pure whites in 
population is considerably less than seventy 
per cent. 

The unqualified terms of condemnation in 
which most of our writers refer to the Spanish 
rule of Cuba, can only be accounted for on the 
assumption of ignorance of the history of the 
Island and the general conditions of the times. 
Spain had an admirable code of laws for the 
government of her colonies. This code, called 
Las Leyes de Indias, was formulated during the 
reign of Philip the second. It was designed to 
insure the humane and equitable treatment of 
the native subjects and, considering the times, 
was a highly enlightened measure. The laws 
were frequently violated by colonial governors, 
but it was hardly in the power of the home gov- 
ernment to prevent such abuses. In those days 
of long distances and slow communication, it 
was necessary that viceroys should be invested 
with practically unlimited powers and undi- 



The History of Cuba 33 

vided authority. The only alternative would 
have been the adoption of some form of popu- 
lar government, which no nation had at that 
period dreamed of applying to its distant pos- 
sessions. As a matter of fact, a liberal policy 
prevailed in Cuba during the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. Public assemblies of 
citizens were held to elect the members of mu- 
nicipal corporations; no taxation was per- 
mitted without the sanction of these bodies ; * 
charges were freely lodged and sustained 
against governors. During the same period, 
the British colonies in the West Indies were 
not so well governed as was Cuba and some of 
their governors were more flagrantly tyrannical 
and dishonest than the worst of Cuba's cap- 
tains-general. Spain's chief fault and the 
cause of her downfall as a colonial power, lay 
in failure to respond to the growth of sentiment 
in favor of popular rights. She became more 
autocratic as other nations became more liberal. 
In truth, she had ineptitude for colonial gov- 
ernment, but her sovereigns generally evinced 

1 It was not until the administration of Villanueva ('18) as in- 
tendant, an office which at that time eclipsed that of captain- 
general and dominated all public bodies, that taxes were for the 
first time imposed without the consent of those to be affected 
by them. 



34 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

a sincere concern for the welfare of their for- 
eign subjects. 

Cuba entered upon an era of development 
and prosperity following the restoration of the 
Island to Spain by the British in 1763. For 
eighty years following the event it was gov- 
erned by a line of captains-general, almost all 
of whom were able and well-intentioned. The 
first of these, Count O'Keilly, devoted his five- 
year term of office to the organization of a 
militia force and the execution of other much 
needed military measures. Don Antonio Bu- 
carely paid special attention to the administra- 
tion of justice throughout the Island and re- 
dressed many popular grievances. Of him was 
recorded the unparalleled fact that during his 
administration not a single complaint against 
him had reached the Court of Madrid. His suc- 
cessor, the Marques de la Torre, gained the 
affection and esteem of all classes. The benign 
and talented Las Casas arrived in 1790, and the 
period of his governorship is recognized by all 
Spanish writers as one of the most brilliant in 
the history of the Island. He effected many 
public improvements and introduced means for 
the increase of the industrial and commercial 
prosperity of Cuba. He it was, who founded 



The History of Cuba 35 

the institution of Sociedad Patriotica, which 
became so important an agency in the promo- 
tion of agriculture, trade, education, literature, 
and the fine arts. The recognition of the pop- 
ular principle in this institution, and the pro- 
motion of liberal ideas by it, have been highly 
influential factors in the development of the 
people and their country. 

To Las Casas, also, the Island is indebted 
for the establishment of the Casa de Beneficen- 
cia, for its first public library, and its first 
newspaper. 

It is frequently stated that under the rule of 
Spain education among the natives was dis- 
couraged. Such was not the case. The facili- 
ties of the masses in the country districts for 
acquiring such education as their classes usu- 
ally enjoyed at the same period in Europe was, 
at least, equally as great. The priests main- 
tained parish schools throughout the Island, 
and received pupils free without the distinction 
of classes or color. In the capital the oppor- 
tunities for learning were unusually good. The 
Jesuits, Dominicans, and other orders, pro- 
vided thorough classical education and instruc- 
tion in foreign languages. Almost every re- 
ligious institution had some sort of college or 



36 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
seminary attached to it. The University of 
Habana was established in 1721. It became the 
object of special favor by Las Casas. He in- 
creased the endowment and extended the scope 
of its utility by creating several new profes- 
sorial chairs, notably one of medicine. He also 
lent aid and encouragement to the Jesuits, in 
improving their colleges. 

Following Las Casas came several other 
benevolent governors, of whom the Conde de 
Santa Clara, the Marques de Someruelos, and 
the Espeletas, especially left records of wise 
and useful administration. 

The chief features of the history of the Island 
previous to the opening of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, were the settlements created by the first 
governor, the usual repartimientos, or dis- 
tribution of the territory and its inhabitants 
among the Spanish adventurers who led the 
early expeditions of the Indians, the introduc- 
tion of negro slaves, the attacks by buccaneers, 
and the capture of Habana by the English. 
The century closed with a notable advance in 
commerce and industry, and a period of excel- 
lent government. This, though essentially des- 
potic, was benevolent and well adapted to the 
conditions of the time. Under it the Cubans 



The History of Cuba 37 

enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, despite the 
short-sighted commercial policy to which they 
were subjected. That they were generally con- 
tented, and well affected towards the mother 
country can not be questioned. The French 
and American revolutions impressed them 
greatly, but did not shake their loyalty. When 
the news of the abduction of the royal family 
of Spain by Napoleon reached Habana, the 
colonial government declared war against 
France, and the populace approved the act 
with enthusiasm. The revolt of the colonies on 
the mainland, and their disseverance from 
Spain, left Cuba still attached to the Crown 
with a constancy that gained for her the 
sobriquet, " ever faithful." 

The political changes which took place in 
Spain in the first quarter of the nineteenth 
century were productive of similar changes in 
Cuba. What was called a constitutional gov- 
ernment was given to the Island. The sudden 
introduction of a democratic system of rule to 
a population composed of the most discordant 
elements, and accustomed to autocracy, could 
not fail of producing something like the dis- 
quieting conditions that followed the premature 
establishment of ultra-free institutions in the 



38 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

countries which had formerly been dependen- 
cies of Spain in America. The masonic socie- 
ties came into vogue in Cuba, as they did in the 
peninsula. From the discussion of religious 
and political matters, these associations soon 
proceeded to the advocacy of revolution. The 
radical doctrines which were thus disseminated, 
readily took root in the minds of the educated, 
among whom translations of the works of Vol- 
taire, Rousseau, and their Italian disciples, 
were widely distributed at this time. In 1823 
a conspiracy, which extended throughout the 
Island, was set on foot by a secret society 
named " the Sotes de Bolivar." The drastic 
measures that were adopted for its suppres- 
sion created deep and widespread resentment 
against the government. 

Upon the restoration of Ferdinand the Sev- 
enth, another sudden swing of the pendulum 
brought the Cubans again under autocratic 
rule. Extreme means were resorted to with a 
view to stamping out the growing revolution- 
ary spirit and reducing the people to their 
former state of ready submission to authority. 
None of these measures was so ill-judged, or 
so lasting in its evil effects, as the Royal Order 
of 1825. This conferred on the captains-gen- 



The History of Cuba 39 

eral " the whole extent of power which by the 
royal ordinance is granted to the governors of 
besieged towns . . . most amply and unre- 
strictedly authorizes Your Excellency not only 
to remove from the Island such persons, hold- 
ing offices from government or not, whatever 
their rank, class, occupation, or situation in 
life may be, whose residence there you may 
deem prejudicial, or whose private or public 
conduct may appear suspicious to you, employ- 
ing in their stead faithful servants of His 
Majesty, who shall fully deserve Your Excel- 
lency 's confidence ; but also to suspend the exe- 
cution of whatever royal orders or general de- 
crees in all the different branches of the admin- 
istration, or in any part of them, as Your 
Excellency may think conducive to the royal 
service ; it being in any case required that these 
measures be temporary, and that Your Excel- 
lency make report of them for His Majesty's 
sovereign approval." 

This order was intended to be observed under 
the most strict responsibility, " le mas estrecta 
responsibilidad," and to be only temporarily in 
effect. It remained in force, however, and its 
terrible powers later became the scourge of the 
land, although they were not immediately felt. 



40 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

The Captain-General upon whom they were 
first conferred, General Vives, refrained from 
exercising them, and under the judicious ad- 
ministration of Count Villanueva, as Intendant, 
the people had no cause to remember the fear- 
ful instrument for oppression which their ru- 
lers had at command. 

The term of General Tacon (1834-1838) 
ushered in the era of tyranny, spoliation and 
incapacity that marked the government of 
Cuba in the remaining period of Spanish dom- 
ination, during which the revolutionary spark 
that was ignited earlier in the century grew 
into an inextinguishable flame. 

Long before this period the Spaniards and 
Cubans had drifted apart. There was nothing 
essential in common between the latter and the 
official class or the soldiers, unless we allow for 
some degree of common origin. The natives 
had gradually learned to entertain hatred for 
the Spaniards, who, in their turn, felt the 
greatest contempt for the Cubans. Neither side 
took the least pain to dissemble their feelings, 
except that in Habana friendly relations were, 
as a rule, maintained between the two classes, 
and this even during revolutionary periods. 
The relations and sentiments of the governing 



The History of Cuba 41 

class and the people to one another were nmch 
like those which existed between Norman and 
Saxon in the century following the Con- 
quest. 

The first Spanish immigration to Cuba com- 
menced early in the sixteenth century, and con- 
sisted mainly of adventurers who accompanied 
the early expeditions, and who settled perma- 
nently in the country, after returning to Spain 
and transplanting their families. These first 
settlers were mostly of Castilian or Andalu- 
sian origin and their descendants furnished the 
best native blood of the Island. Shortly after, 
emigrants from the Basque Provinces and from 
Catalonia began to come in. These belonged 
to the peasant class, and from them the gua- 
jiro, or poor white, of the country dis- 
tricts has sprung. After the abolition of 
slavery a number of Galegos came over 
to seek employment in the houses of the 
wealthy. 

Aside from a handful of French refugees, the 
white population of the Island was almost ex- 
clusively composed of Spaniards or people of 
Spanish descent until a late day. Under such 
circumstances of racial, religious and polit- 
ical affinity, a practical government might 



42 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 



have maintained peace continuously but for 
conditions which gradually moulded the Cu- 
bans into absolute antagonism to the Span- 
iards. 



CHAPTER III 

THE HISTOKY OF CUBA (CONTINUED) 

Feom the outset the two chief conditions that 
militated against the development of Cuba and 
the prosperity of her people were trade restric- 
tion and the appropriation of land. 

In the early days of the colony large tracts 
of land were granted by the Crown to Castil- 
ians of noble family. These never made per- 
manent residence on the Island, but entrusted 
their affairs to an agent. The wealthy land 
owner often had a palace on the Cerro, and oc- 
casionally paid a brief winter visit to the capi- 
tal, and made a still briefer excursion to his 
hacienda, where his appearance in all the dig- 
nity and state of aristocratic wealth had an ir- 
ritating effect upon his poor neighbors. The 
money produced by his sugar plantation or his 
cattle ranch he dissipated in the fashionable 
pleasures of Madrid and Paris. 

This system of absentee landlordism acted 
like a blight upon the country until the aboli- 

48 



M Cuba and Her People of To-day 

tion of slavery necessitated the cutting up of 
large estates, or their transfer to corporations, 
possessed of the means of paying for the labor 
necessary to work them. 

Not a few of the large properties were in the 
hands of Cubans, but in these cases the tenure 
was not so harmful to the country, nor as odi- 
ous to the common people. The Cuban plant- 
ers, most of whom were ruined during the pro- 
tracted period of insurrection, invariably made 
their homes on the haciendas, where one gener- 
ation followed another in possession. The 
sons usually remained with the father, each 
taking some particular share in the manage- 
ment of the estate. Thus several families were 
often found living under one roof and generally 
in perfect amity, for the Cubans are distinctly 
domestic people, affectionate in disposition and 
clannish in habit. 

There were comparatively few holdings in 
the hands of peasant proprietors, or small 
farmers, and this absence of a home and 
land owning population was an obviously 
weak element in the foundation of the govern- 
ment. 

The greater part of the productive soil was 
in the hands of a few grandees, and the wealth 



The History of Cuba 45 

extracted from it was withheld from general 
circulation, which had, among other harmful 
consequences, that of retarding the extension 
of agriculture and general industrial advance- 
ment. 

Judged by our present conceptions of justice 
and policy, the commercial regulations imposed 
upon Cuba by Spain appear to have been ex- 
tremely foolish and iniquitous, but we must 
bear in mind that they were quite consistent 
with the prevailing idea at that time that the 
interests of colonies should be made subservi- 
ent to those of the parent country. In other 
words, the commercial and industrial restric- 
tions which were imposed on Cuba, while they 
had the effect of exploiting the Island for the 
benefit of Spain, originated not so much from 
disregard of the colony's welfare as from the 
peculiar views of political economy generally 
entertained in that age. Great Britain's Amer- 
ican possessions were subjected to similar 
treatment. Spain's fatal error lay in the tenac- 
ity with which she clung to her misguided pol- 
icy. A little judicious reform at the beginning 
of the last century, when other powers were 
granting to their colonies a measurable degree 
of freedom in trade and self-government, would 



46 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

probably have sufficed to keep Cuba under the 
flag of Spain. 

The restrictions on the commerce of the 
Island began with the royal decree of 1497, 
which granted to the port of Seville the conclu- 
sive privilege of trade with the colonies, these 
being prohibited from any commercial inter- 
course with any foreign countries. In 1707 this 
monopoly was transferred from Seville to the 
port of Cadiz. "While it was the capital of the 
Island, Santiago was the sole port of entry, and 
after Habana became the capital, all shipments 
passed through it. This restricted traffic be- 
tween Spain and its insular colony was jeal- 
ously guarded. Trading vessels were required 
to assemble in flotas, or fleets, and to make the 
double voyage under the escort of war-ships. 
This arrangement was designed hardly as much 
for protection as for the prevention of illicit 
dealings with the intermediate countries. Dur- 
ing certain periods trade with foreigners was 
prohibited under the most severe penalties, and 
it was never permissible except by special au- 
thorization. Commercial intercourse between 
the colonies was even forbidden. With the ex- 
ception of a brief term, during which the Eng- 
lish occupied the Island, these hampering con- 



The History of Cuba 47 

ditions obtained until 1778, when Habana was 
opened to free trade. The decree authorized 
traffic between several ports of Cuba. Others 
were included in this privilege, from time to 
time, until, in 1803, practically all the ports of 
the Island enjoyed it. 

For two hundred years or more, such action 
upon the part of the sovereign government was 
looked upon by all nations as good policy. In 
1714 Spain and the Dutch Confederation ef- 
fected a convention by the terms of which each 
party was bound to refrain from every form of 
trade with the American possessions of the 
other. A similar agreement was reached be- 
tween England and Spain about fifty years 
later. Towards the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, however, these treaties were abrogated 
and a royal cedilla set forth that no foreign 
ship should be allowed to enter a Cuban port 
under any conditions. 

The peninsular war reduced the trade of 
Cuba to such an extent that the Ayuntamiento 
and the Consulado of Habana seriously debated 
the expediency of throwing the port entirely 
open and admitting foreign goods on a parity 
with those of the home country. In considera- 
tion of the emergency the restraints on trade 



48 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

were substantially released during the first 
decade of the nineteenth century. Shortly af- 
terwards, the Government sought to reestablish 
them, but was induced to refrain by the pro- 
testations of Captain-General Marques de 
Someruelos, who made a forcible representa- 
tion of the economic necessities of the colony 
and the impossibility of their being met under 
the restricting policy. 

The least concession was wrung from the 
Council of the Indies with the utmost difficulty. 
They remained convinced that the limitations 
of the commerce of the colonies to the mother 
country was the best course for the latter, at 
least, and secured a virtual resumption of the 
condition by indirect means. By excessive 
duties, discriminating tariffs, and the heavy 
port dues, foreign trade was placed at such a 
great disadvantage that the Cubans, although 
ostensibly free in the matter, found themselves 
again restricted for the most part to commerce 
with Spain. 

The first tariff of Cuba, enforced in 1818, 
imposed a duty of forty-three per cent, ad valo- 
rem on all foreign merchandise, except agricul- 
tural implements and machinery, which were 
taxed twenty-six and one-half per cent. These 



The History of Cuba 49 

rates were somewhat reduced a few years later. 
Similar importations from Spain were granted 
a preferential reduction of one-third from these 
rates. But, as Spain produced a very small 
proportion of the articles that comprised 
Cuba's imports, her merchants secured them 
from various foreign sources, and, of course, 
the consumers were compelled to pay higher 
prices than if they had been allowed to deal di- 
rectly with the producers under an impartial 
system of duties. 

In 1828 an export tariff was imposed on 
sugar and coffee, which, by this time, had be- 
come important products. Four-fifths of a cent 
per pound was levied on the former, and two- 
fifths on the latter. A form of shipping bounty 
added to the weight of these exactions. In 
case the exports were carried in foreign bot- 
toms the duty on sugar was doubled and that 
on coffee increased to one cent a pound. 

This tariff was maintained without material 
change until a reciprocal commercial agreement 
was effected by the United States and Spain 
in 1891. For the first time in its history, Cuba 
found itself in a position to trade on favorable 
terms with its nearest and best market. As a 
result the trade of the Island was soon trans- 



50 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ferred, almost in its entirety, to the United 
States, and its people enjoyed a term of pros- 
perity transcending anything in their former 
experience. The change was, however, short 
lived. In 1894 the termination of the agree- 
ment and the reestablishment of the old regu- 
lations forced compulsory traffic with Spain 
upon the Cubans. 

But the burdens entailed upon the people by 
trade restrictions were by no means all that 
they were called on to bear. A system of heavy 
and vexatious taxation prevailed during the en- 
tire period of Spain's dominance over the 
Island. Taxes were levied on all kinds of prop- 
erty and on every form of industry. Every 
profession and occupation was taxed. Legal 
papers, petitions and business documents were 
required to be stamped. 

There was a ' ' consumption tax ' ' on the kill- 
ing of cattle which, of course, increased the 
price of meat to the consumer. There was an 
impost of twenty ducats, called the derecho de 
averia, collected upon every person who arrived 
on the Island. This was established in the 
earliest years of the colony and maintained un- 
til near the close of the eighteenth century. 
During the last hundred years of its enforce- 



The History of Cuba 51 

ment, the amount was increased from sixteen 
dollars to twenty-two dollars. It is needless to 
say that this tax seriously impeded immigra- 
tion of the peasant class most needed by the 
country. . 

There was a lottery tax, and a " cedilla," or 
head tax. The latter proved very burdensome 
to the poorest of the people who, when in ar- 
rears of it, were debarred from the exercise of 
most rights and privileges involving civil and 
ecclesiastical authorization. Thus, they could 
not make contracts, enter into marriages, or 
secure baptism for their children until the over- 
due tax had been paid. 

Obviously such a system of taxation worked 
the utmost discouragement to the acquisition 
of property and the pursuit of industries. Had 
the design of the Peninsular Government been 
to ruin the Island and to suppress all develop- 
ment, no more effective measures for the pur- 
pose could have been devised. None but a coun- 
try superlatively rich in natural resources 
could have carried such a burden. Like the 
other American colonies of Spain, Cuba re- 
ceived contributions, or situados, from Mexico. 
During the forty years following 1766, these 
amounted to 108,150,504 pesos fuertes. The 



52 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

worst of it was that the large revenue derived 
from these heavy impositions upon the people 
and the trade of Cuba was either absorbed in 
the excessive cost of administering the Island, 
or diverted to the royal treasury. Compara- 
tively little of it was spent on local public im- 
provements, unless we should include works of 
a military nature. Aside from the calsada, or 
military highway, road-making was neglected. 
Harbors lacked improvements and cities were 
deficient in water supply, sewers and paving. 
In the country districts, public buildings and 
schoolhouses were far short of the necessities 
of the population. Even in late years the an- 
nual appropriation for educational purposes 
was no more than two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars. 

Aside from the riots resulting from the en- 
forcement of the tobacco monopoly, during the 
term of Captain-General Roja, there was no 
active opposition to the Government previous 
to 1823. In that year an abortive insurrection 
followed the attempt to abrogate the liberal 
constitution of 1812, and reestablish the old- 
time absolutism. Political agitation and revo- 
lutionary outbreaks continued from that time, 
stimulated by the secret societies, whose 



The History of Cuba 53 

branches were scattered all over the country. 
Under these circumstances the veiled antipathy, 
which had been growing between the Cubans 
and Spaniards, rapidly assumed the nature of 
a wide breach. On the one side were ranged 
the official class, the clerics, the beneficiaries of 
monopolies, and persons who derived profit in 
various ways from connection with the admin- 
istration. On the other, were the native whites 
who sought independence, or at least autonomy. 
The latter had the sympathy and support of 
practically all the blacks, and of a large propor- 
tion of the colored population. 

In 1836 the constitution of 1812 was reestab- 
lished in Spain, but Cuba was deprived of the 
most important privileges that should have 
been secured to her by the change. The depu- 
ties who were sent to the constitutional conven- 
tion at Madrid from Cuba were arbitrarily ex- 
cluded. It was announced that the Island 
should be governed by special laws, but these 
were never published and, if definitely framed 
at all, must have been communicated to the of- 
ficials in a semi-confidential manner. 

This totally unjust and fatally unwise action 
on the part of the Crown stirred the existing 
discontent to boiling point and thereafter the 



54 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

revolutionary movement assumed a muck more 
menacing aspect. During the succeeding dec- 
ade a number of uprisings occurred in such 
widely separated parts of the country as to 
clearly indicate that the entire Island was dis- 
affected. The lack of connection between these 
outbreaks and their quick subsidence also 
showed an absence of organization or con- 
certed plan. In 1847, however, a more serious 
revolutionary conspiracy, and one which was 
destined to have far-reaching effect, was set 
on foot by Narcisco Lopez. The movement was 
intelligently planned and contemplated the an- 
nexation of Cuba to the United States. 

The conspiracy was betrayed to the Spanish 
authorities — no uncommon occurrence in the 
early revolutionary period — and Lopez, with 
the chief figures in the affair, fled to America. 
In 1850 Lopez with six hundred men landed at 
Cardenas and captured the fortress. Failing, 
however, to receive expected support, he im- 
mediately sailed to Key "West. The following 
year Lopez landed another expedition in Cuba 
near Bahia Honda. This occasion was memo- 
rable on account of the fact that the force in- 
cluded one hundred and fifty men under Colo- 
nel Crittenden of Kentucky. 



The History of Cuba 55 

Disaster quickly overtook this attempt. The 
mistake was made of immediately dividing the 
force after landing. Lopez with one body of 
men advanced on Las Pozas, leaving Colonel 
Crittenden, with the remainder, in El Morilla. 
A detachment of Spanish troops overtook and 
defeated Lopez, after a gallant fight. The 
leader was captured, carried to Habana, and 
promptly garroted. Crittenden and his men 
attempted to escape by sea but were surrounded 
and forced to surrender. All were subse- 
quently shot at the Castle of Atares. 

This incident aroused among the people of 
the United States an interest in Cuban affairs, 
out of which there grew a sympathy for the 
insurgents that never abated. 

Several futile efforts followed the Lopez af- 
fair, and then came the revolution of 1868, 
which had its inception at Yara, in the Prov- 
ince of Camaguey. It is generally referred to 
by the Cubans as the " Ten Years War," al- 
though no battles were fought. There were, 
however, many deaths from disease, especially 
among the Spanish troops, and the cost of the 
contest was three hundred million dollars, 
which amount was charged to the Cuban debt. 

In February, 1878, the treaty of Zanjon was 



56 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

entered into by the representatives of Spain 
and those of the independent government 
which the insurgents had created on paper and 
had affected to maintain in the field. Under 
this convention the Crown agreed to substantial 
civil and political concessions in favor of the 
people of Cuba. These undertakings, the Cu- 
bans declare, were never fulfilled. Spanish 
officials, on the other hand, maintain that the 
mother country actually granted more than her 
obligation demanded of her. The truth will be 
found in the fact that while laws were promul- 
gated in accordance with the promises given at 
Zanjon, they were not carried out. Thus al- 
though documentary evidence might be adduced 
to show that the Cubans enjoyed a liberal gov- 
ernment after 1878, their condition, in reality, 
remained virtually unchanged. 

The hopes that had been inspired by the 
treaty of Zanjon quickly waned and the spirit 
of discontent revived. This was greatly in- 
creased by the economic troubles resulting from 
the depression of the sugar trade, which began 
in 1884, and the total abolition of slavery in 
1887. 

Meanwhile Spain continued to regulate the 
financial affairs of the Island with the old-time 



The History of Cuba 57 

reckless mismanagement. From 1893 to 1898 
the revenues of Cuba derived from excessive 
taxation, heavy duties and the Habana lottery, 
averaged about $25,000,000 per annum. Of this 
amount, $10,500,000 was appropriated to the 
payment of the Cuban debt, which by 1897 had 
swelled to the enormous aggregate of $400,- 
000,000, or $283.54 per capita, a ratio more than 
three times as great as the per capita debt of 
Spain. For the support of the army, navy, 
administration and church in Cuba, $12,000,000 
was allotted. The remaining $2,500,000 was 
allowed for public works, education and general 
improvements in Cuba, independent of munic- 
ipal expenditures. It may be added that when, 
as in better times, the revenues had been very 
much larger, the demands of the home Govern- 
ment were proportionally increased. 

At the close of the eighties, the price of sugar 
rose to an abnormal height and Cuba entered 
upon a brief period of prosperity. Political 
agitation abated and the Island sank into a 
more peaceful condition than it had known for 
many years. It was, however, but the lull be- 
fore the storm. The repeal of the Blaine reci- 
procity agreement dealt a deadly blow to the 
Cuban sugar industry. At once conditions 



58 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
changed. Quiescence gave place to agitation. 
The revolutionary spirit awoke with greater 
determination than ever, fanned by the thought 
that Cuba, independent or annexed to the 
United States could always rely upon a favor- 
able market for her principal product. 

Plot and conspiracy soon became rife and 
received the support of a number of influential 
men, who had hitherto held aloof, but who now 
despaired of permanent prosperity for the 
Island under Spanish rule. Men who had taken 
part in the Ten Years War began to organize 
in secret, and several of their former leaders, 
Gomez, Garcia, Maceo, and others, returned to 
Cuba from their voluntary exile. 

In 1895 was launched the insurrection which 
culminated in the freedom of Cuba. The lead- 
ers of the movement entered upon it with the 
deliberate design of involving the United States 
and their success in doing so brought about a 
result which they could not have attained other- 
wise. 

A friendly feeling for Cuba not unmixed 
with interest considerations, had existed in the 
United States for many years. Annexation 
had been discussed during the presidency of 
John Quincy Adams, and President Polk made 



The History of Cuba 59 

a proposition to the Spanish Government for 
the purchase of the Island. In 1854, the search 
of several American merchant ships by Span- 
ish cruisers led to the issuance of the " Ostend 
Manifesto," a protest on the part of the United 
States. In this document it was declared that 
" the possession of Cuba by a foreign power 
was a menace to the peace of the United States, 
and that Spain be offered the alternative of ac- 
cepting $200,000,000 for her sovereignty over 
the Island, or having it taken from her by 
force." During the Ten Years "War President 
Grant expressed to the Spanish Government 
his belief that only independence and emanci- 
pation could settle the Cuban question, and 
that intervention might be necessary to end the 
war. He repeatedly proffered the good offices 
of the United States in reestablishing peace. 
Meanwhile the capture of the Virginius, in 
1873, and the summary execution of fifty-three 
of her passengers and crew, by order of the 
Spanish authorities, came very near to involv- 
ing the countries in war. 

From the outbreak of the rebellion of 1895, 
the people of the United States evinced a strong 
sympathy for the Cubans. This was reflected 
by the action of Congress in directing President 



60 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Cleveland to proffer the good offices of the 
United States to Spain with a view to ending 
the war and securing the independence of the 
Island. In 1896 both Bepublican and Democra- 
tic national conventions passed resolutions of 
sympathy for the Cubans and demanded that 
the Government should take action. 

At the close of the same year, the Senate 
Committee on Foreign Relations reported a 
resolution recognizing the republic of Cuba, but 
it was never taken from the calendar. Mean- 
while reports of outrages and indignities to 
American citizens in Cuba led to official protest 
and the appointment of Judge William R. Day 
to investigate conditions. Popular indignation 
in the United States was further aroused by the 
press reports of the dreadful effects of General 
Weyler's plan of reconcentration. 

In May, 1897, Congress voted $50,000 for the 
purchase of supplies to relieve the needs of the 
reconcentrados , on the ground that many of 
them were reported to be American citizens. 
Shortly afterwards, the United States re- 
quested the Spanish Government to put an end 
to the reconcentration system and to recall Cap- 
tain General Weyler. Spain received the re- 
quests with professed favor, but, after months 



The History of Cuba 61 

had elapsed, without any action being taken, 
the battleship Maine was sent to Habana for 
the protection of American citizens. 

On the night of February 15th, the Maine 
was blown up and two hundred and sixty-six of 
her complement lost their lives. President 
McKinley appointed a board of naval officers 
to investigate the circumstances. The resultant 
report, which was submitted to Congress, de- 
clared that the ship had been destroyed by an 
external explosion. 

The condition of affairs aroused serious ap- 
prehensions on the part of the Spanish Govern- 
ment and at the same time exhilarated the in- 
surgent leaders. Both parties realized that 
the intervention of the United States was immi- 
nent. The former proposed a suspension of 
hostilities, pending an agreement upon terms of 
peace, and offered to appropriate $600,000 for 
the benefit of the reconcentrados. These over- 
tures were promptly rejected by the insurgent 
leaders. 

Early in April, the President sent a message 
to Congress requesting authority to end the 
war and to secure in Cuba the establishment of 
a stable government, capable of fulfilling its 
international obligations and maintaining 



62 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
peace. This was, in effect, a request to enter 
upon war with Spain. 

A few days later, Congress passed joint reso- 
lutions demanding the withdrawal of Spain 
from Cuba and empowering the President to 
use the naval and military forces of the United 
States to carry the resolutions into effect. This 
was virtually a declaration of war. 



CHAPTEE IV 



CUBA IN TRANSITION 



A circumstantial account of the war of lib- 
eration would make anything but pleasant read- 
ing. Aside from the fact that on one side was 
a down-trodden people struggling to throw off 
the yoke of the oppressor, there was little in 
the conflict to excite admiration, or even inter- 
est. Barbarities of the worst kind were prac- 
tised by the insurgents as well as by the Span- 
iards, and it would be profitless to enquire 
where the balance of blame lay when both were 
so deeply guilty. From the technical point of 
view the protracted hostilities hardly deserved 
to be termed war. Until the participation of 
the United States there was not an engagement 
which might be justly described as a battle. 
Neither side displayed any extraordinary mili- 
tary capacity, but the plans and movements of 
the rebels were characterized by greater intel- 
ligence and purpose than those of their oppo- 
nents. During the entire war one manoeuvre 

63 



64 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

alone was of a high order of strategy. That 
was the brilliant operation in which Antonio 
Maceo, the mulatto, swept from end to end of 
the Island, and lighted the flame of rebellion 
throughout its length. One of the most impor- 
tant features of the war was the prominent 
part taken in it by the black and colored ele- 
ments of the population. They formed the 
backbone of the insurgent army, and furnished 
several of its most able leaders. As a result 
the " race of color " has secured a standing 
and influence in Cuba which it does not enjoy 
in any other country where the Caucasian is 
dominant. 

On one of the closing days of 1895, the con- 
stitutional guarantees were suspended in Cuba 
by proclamation. The Government had sud- 
denly awakened to the fact that a mine had 
been quietly laid beneath its feet. For months 
a wide-spread conspiracy, having its fountain- 
head in the United States, had been in exist- 
ence. The Cuban Junta in New York had, 
during this time, energetically collected money 
and arms for the purpose of promoting a re- 
bellion with greater determination and upon 
better organized lines than ever before. With 
some of the leaders the object entertained was 



Cuba in Transition 65 

autonomy; with, others, complete independ- 
ence; and with, a third element, annexation to 
the United States. All were united, however, 
in a burning desire to terminate the rule of 
Spain over their native land. 

For some time previous to the proclamation 
of the Governor-General, arms and ammuni- 
tion had been shipped to Cuba from various 
American ports and were secreted in different 
parts of the Island. Several local outbreaks 
had presaged the approaching storm, which 
burst in March. Before the close of April, the 
brothers Maceo, Jose Marti, and Maximo 
Gomez had returned to Cuba and resumed their 
respective places at the head of the rebel ranks. 
Close upon their heels arrived Martinez Cam- 
pos, who had effected the peace at Zanjon, to 
take the part of Governor- General. 

Without delay, the insurgent generals set 
about carrying out the shrewd design of 
spreading the rebellion over every part of the 
Island. Their object was not only to increase 
the difficulties of the Spaniards, but also to give 
the uprising as formidable an aspect as possi- 
ble, in the hope of securing the recognition, if 
not the intervention, of the United States. 

General Campos entered upon his task with 



66 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

the hope of bringing about a cessation of the 
insurrection by means of conciliatory measures. 
One of his first acts was to issue a manifesto 
to the rebels, offering pardon to all such as 
should lay down their arms and resume their 
allegiance to the Crown of Spain. In his proc- 
lamation of martial law he enjoined upon his 
troops the observance of the recognized prin- 
ciples of humane warfare. 

Within a week of his arrival, General Campos 
took command of the troops in the field. A 
period of desultory fighting ensued and, at 
length, in the middle of July, the first serious 
action of the war took place. The Spaniards 
in force met a body of insurgents near Bayamo. 
Probably there were about three thousand on 
either side. The insurgents had the better of 
the engagement, which was hotly contested, and 
General Campos narrowly escaped the loss of 
his life. 

Followed months of skirmishing, in which 
the rebels attacked isolated garrisons with con- 
siderable success, but avoided encounters with 
large bodies of troops. Meanwhile, numerous 
filibustering expeditions disembarked with re- 
cruits and munitions of war, greatly strength- 
ening the revolutionary movement. By the end 



Cuba in Transition 67 

of the summer, eighty thousand Spanish regu- 
lars, besides a number of volunteers and guer- 
rillas, were in the field. The insurgent forces 
did not exceed twenty thousand men, a consid- 
erable proportion of whom were armed only 
with machetes. But the Spaniards shortly 
learned to dread this weapon more than the 
rifle. 

Before the close of the year dynamite and the 
torch were brought into play. The revolution- 
ists began, at first with discrimination, to burn 
plantations and to blow up bridges. On the 
other side the Spaniards commenced to execute 
insurgent chiefs who were captured. 

In December the march to the west was vig- 
orously pushed by Gomez and Maceo, whilst 
Campos employed all his resources in the ef- 
fort to intercept it. The result was a series of 
technical movements in which the Spanish 
troops, although led by generals of experience, 
were usually worsted. Detached bodies of in- 
surgents harassed the royalist commands, and 
diverted their attention, while Maceo steadily 
pushed westward, gathering recruits in his 
progress and leaving a train of active rebellion 
in his wake. The trochas, or trenches, strung 
with fortlets, to which the Spaniards resorted 



68 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

as a means of stemming the tide, proved of 
little efficacy. The insurgents, in large bodies, 
crossed them time and again. With one hun- 
dred thousand troops at his command, Campos 
found it impossible to check or circumscribe the 
rebel movements. 

As time went on the insurgents became more 
and more unrestrained in the destruction of 
property. Cane-fields, sugar mills, residences, 
were given to the flames wherever they could 
be reached. This was done in pursuance of a 
definite policy which Gomez had repeatedly an- 
nounced in his proclamations. He declared 
that the readiest means of inducing the Span- 
iards to leave the Island was to make it worth- 
less to them. If this theory was somewhat far- 
fetched, there could be no question of the prac- 
tical effect of the destruction of the sugar 
crop in curtailing the resources of the admin- 
istration. 

Early in 1896, the insurgents had penetrated 
within a few miles of Habana and the procla- 
mation of martial law was extended to embrace 
the whole Island. The Governor-General re- 
turned to the capital, which was in a state of 
turmoil and panic. 

Gomez, however, did not for an instant enter- 



Cuba in Transition 69 

tain the idea of so rash an enterprise as an 
attack npon the City. His purpose was to make 
a spectacular demonstration for the sake of its 
moral effect and to concentrate the attention 
of the Spanish commanders upon himself in 
order that Maceo might push on to Pinar del 
Rio with less opposition. In both respects he 
was eminently successful. 

Maceo traversed the entire length of Pinar 
del Rio, and that Province, in which rebellion 
had never before reared its head, was soon in 
open revolt from end to end. During January 
and February, Maceo ranged through Pinar del 
Rio and the southern portion of Habana, con- 
stantly engaged with one or another of the 
many detachments that were sent against him. 
For a brief space he transferred his operations 
to Matanzas, but returned to Pinar del Rio and 
for eight months withstood the numerous 
strong bodies of troops which General Weyler 
threw against him. Toward the close of the 
year 1896, Maceo began a march eastward and 
was killed in a chance encounter with a small 
force of Spanish soldiers. 

In the execution of the plan for the invasion 
of the western portion of Cuba, which was con- 
ceived by Gomez, Antonio Maceo performed a 



70 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

splendid service for the insurgent cause. Al- 
though inferior in intellect to his chief and 
some other rebel leaders, Maceo was the most 
capable captain of them all, and his prestige 
among friends and foes was greater than that 
of any of his associates. 

When General Campos returned to Habana, 
at the close of the year 1895, it was to find pop- 
ular discontent and political conspiracy di- 
rected against him. Already discouraged by 
the failure of his military campaign, and of his 
effort to break up the insurrection by concilia- 
tion, the disaffection at the capital completely 
disheartened the old soldier, who had conscien- 
tiously endeavored to do his duty according to 
his lights. He tendered his resignation, and 
the home Government appointed General Wey- 
ler, Marquis of Tenerife, to succeed him. 

This man, who amply earned his sobriquet 
of " Butcher," was the unwitting instrument 
of Cuba's freedom. His atrocious barbarities, 
rather than the destruction of the Maine, were 
the cause of the United States declaring war 
against Spain. Although, at the outset, it ap- 
peared as though his succession to Campos was 
a dire blow to the insurgents, the event proved 
it to be a blessing in disguise. The retiring 



Cuba in Transition 71 

General believed that Spain should grant to the 
Cubans the most liberal administrative and 
political reforms, even to the extent of auton- 
omy. It is possible that he might have brought 
the authorities at Madrid to his way of think- 
ing and, in that case, quite probable that the 
rebellion would have been brought to a peaceful 
termination. 

Weyler lost no time in instituting his concen- 
tration system. It was a measure in which he 
and Canovas, the premier of Spain, had great 
faith as a means of subduing the insurrection 
but it utterly failed in its object and had a re- 
sult of which its originators little dreamed. 
They excused it on the ground of military 
necessity, but it contravened the principles of 
civilized warfare in important particulars. It 
involved making prisoners of peaceful noncom- 
batants, and went farther in neglecting to af- 
ford them the treatment which the least humane 
nation concedes to military captives. Indeed 
its brutality was such as savages would rarely 
be guilty of. 

The people of the country districts, men, 
women, and children, were segregated within 
certain restricted bounds, sometimes denned by 
stockades, or trenches, and always guarded by 



72 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
troops. Sometimes they were permitted to 
enter neighboring towns, but, even in such 
eases, their movements were limited by military 
circumspection. 

If this measure had gone no farther it might 
have been condoned. The British, in the Boer 
War, resorted to such an expedient, but they 
made their detention camps as comfortable as 
possible, they fed and clothed the inmates suf- 
ficiently, and afforded them medical attention. 
Weyler's wretched reconcentrados were simply 
herded together and left to their own resources. 
They were reduced to begging of a people only 
one degree less impoverished than themselves. 
The townsman who gave a tortilla to a starving 
pacifico was usually depriving his own family. 
Disease, unchecked, ran riot in the concentra- 
tion camps. 

The mortality was fearful and those who 
survived were unfitted for years, the men to 
work, the women to bear healthy children. 
Cuba has not yet passed from the effects of 
Weyler's barbaric measure. 

After General Weyler's arrival, Spain con- 
tinued to send steady reinforcements to Cuba 
to fill the ranks thinned by disease. He never 
had fewer than one hundred thousand men 



Cuba in Transition 73 

under his command. With these he entered 
upon vigorous military operations, at first con- 
centrating his forces upon Pinar del Rio with 
the object of crushing Maceo. He endeavored 
to isolate the leader at the western end of the 
Island by constructing a trocha, from coast to 
coast, across its narrowest part. The measure 
failed in its purpose. Maceo crossed the bar- 
rier and met his death near Habana in an other- 
wise trivial skirmish. 

Weyler now directed his efforts against 
Gomez and Garcia, but his task was even a 
more difficult one than that of Campos had 
been. After spreading the rebellion over the 
entire Island, Gomez changed his tactics. It 
now became the practice of the insurgents to 
move stealthily about in the manigua, burning 
and destroying wherever they could find any- 
thing upon which to lay their hands, but avoid- 
ing contact with the Spanish troops. Thus 
Weyler 's soldiers were kept constantly chasing 
back and forth in endless and futile pursuit of 
an intangible enemy. By his orders such prop- 
erty as had escaped destruction by the rebels 
was ruined by the royalists. 

By the middle of 1897, the Island was a mass 
of blackened ruins, an expanse of homeless 



74 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

waste. And the flood of insurrection had not 
been stayed in the slightest degree. Weyler 
had failed more utterly than Campos. But he 
had done more; he had aroused in the public 
mind of America a realization of the stubborn 
opposition of the Cubans to Spanish rule and 
the hopelessness of Spain's effort to reassert 
it, combined with indignation at her methods. 
At length, but all too late, Spain awoke to the 
futility of longer attempting repression, and 
the necessity of conceding to the Cubans a lib- 
eral measure of justice and independence. 
Weyler was recalled, and General Blanco came 
to Cuba, bearing in his hand the olive branch 
of autonomy. He arrived in November and im- 
mediately set about reversing the policy of his 
predecessor. Amnesty was offered to all revo- 
lutionists; harsh decrees were annulled or 
suspended; political prisoners were released; 
the rigors of reconcentration were relaxed ; the 
officials appointed by Weyler throughout the 
Island were removed and Cubans invited to 
take their places; a cabinet was actually in- 
stalled at Habana and the machinery of home 
rule put in motion. 

It was all of no avail. The insurgent leaders 
in the field positively refused to accept any 




STREET SCEXE, SAXTIAGO DE CUBA. 



Cuba in Transition 75 

terms short of independence. In this attitude 
they were encouraged by the Junta in New 
York who, by the beginning of 1898, felt confi- 
dent of the early active interposition of the 
United States. Such a consummation was ren- 
dered more probable by the movement, started 
at the close of the previous year on the part 
of the Cuban sugar planters, to secretly apprise 
the United States of their desire for its inter- 
vention. 

The first overt act in the war with Spain was 
the President's call for volunteers, issued 
April 23rd, 1898. Four days later, Admiral 
Dewey left Hongkong for Manila, where, on the 
first day of May, he captured or destroyed the 
Spanish fleet stationed there. June 14th, the 
first detachment of American troops left for 
Cuba under General Shafter, and landed in the 
vicinity of Santiago de Cuba. On the first and 
second days of July the Spaniards were de- 
feated in the engagement of San Juan, and on 
the third, Admiral Cervera's ships were totally 
destroyed by the American fleet under the com- 
mand of Captain Sampson. 

August 12th, a protocol provided for a cessa- 
tion of hostilities, and on December 10th, a 
treaty of peace between the United States and 



76 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Spain was signed at Paris, securing to Cuba 
absolute freedom on the single condition of es- 
tablishing " a stable government capable of 
maintaining order and observing international 
obligations. ' ' 

Thus closed the final war of independence, 
which cost Cuba at least twelve per cent, of her 
population and two-thirds of her wealth. She 
emerged from it weak and impoverished, with 
political and economic structures shaken to 
their bases, and helpless but for the supporting 
hand of the United States. 

Under the military government instituted by 
the United States pending the creation of such 
conditions as would be favorable to the assump- 
tion of full civil rights by the Cubans, many 
beneficial works were carried out aside from 
the laying of a political foundation for the fu- 
ture administration of the country. The most 
extensive reformative measures were vigor- 
ously applied to the affairs of the Island. The 
most thorough sanitation was planned and, to 
a great extent, carried out; a public school 
system was instituted ; many miles of highway 
were improved or constructed ; agriculture and 
commerce were resuscitated. A period of pros- 
perity resulted, which was proof alike of the 



Cuba in Transition 77 

effectiveness of the American administration 
and of the wonderful recuperative power of the 
country. 

In its relation to the United States, Cuba was 
in a position different from that of any other 
Latin-American republic. This unique condi- 
tion was due to the fact that the Cubans had 
adopted as a part of their constitution a law 
enacted by the Congress of the United States 
and known as the Piatt Amendment, which had 
later been incorporated in a permanent treaty 
between the countries. This constitution re- 
quirement and treaty obligation bound the Ee- 
public of Cuba not to enter into any compact 
with any foreign power which might tend to 
impair the independence of the Eepublic: nor 
to contract any public debt to the service of 
which it could not properly attend; to lease 
coaling stations to the United States; and to 
execute and extend plans for the sanitation of 
the cities of the Island. It expressed the con- 
sent of Cuba to the exercise by the United 
States of the right to intervene for the preser- 
vation of Cuban independence and mainte- 
nance of a government capable of protecting 
life, property and individual liberty, and of 
discharging such obligations imposed by the 



78 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Treaty of Paris on the United States as were 
now to be assumed and undertaken by the Gov- 
ernment of Cuba. 

Under its first President, Dr. Estrada Palma, 
the young republic progressed in a manner 
gratifying to its sponsors, but as the presiden- 
tial term grew to a close political dissensions 
arose and, in the middle of 1906, an open revolt 
against the Government broke out, and upri- 
sings occurred all over the country. The osten- 
sible cause of the disaffection was undue inter- 
ference with the national elections by adminis- 
trative officials, but there is no doubt that the 
majority of the insurrectos were moved by no 
higher sentiment than a love of disturbance and 
the hope of loot. 

The Government was quite unprepared to 
cope with the situation. It had no army, very 
little artillery, and an entirely inadequate force 
of rural constabulary. Efforts to organize 
militia met with such poor success that they 
were soon abandoned. 

President Palma appealed to the United 
States to exercise its right and obligation of 
intervention, and announced his intention of 
resigning in order to save the country from 
anarchy. President Eoosevelt desired, and 



Cuba in Transition 79 

hoped, that the difficulty might be overcome 
without a resort to extreme measures. He 
begged the Cuban Chief Executive to retain his 
post, and despatched Mr. Taft, Secretary of 
War, and Mr. Bacon, Assistant Secretary of 
State, to Habana in the capacity of special en- 
voys to render all possible aid in securing an 
amicable entente between the administrative 
party and the insurgents. 

The commissioners entered upon this ex- 
tremely difficult task in the middle of Septem- 
ber, 1906. They decided that the use of force 
or even a show of it, would be calculated to pre- 
cipitate guerrilla warfare, and wisely deter- 
mined to rely upon diplomacy. Prominent citi- 
zens, irrespective of party affiliations, were in- 
vited to meet the Commission and to express 
their views of the situation freely. Many con- 
ferences were held with the leaders of the dif- 
ferent political parties, and their suggestions 
for a settlement of the differences were given 
careful and impartial consideration. 

A compromise arrangement, which contem- 
plated the resignation of all the administrative 
officials, except the President, and the holding 
of a fresh election, was formulated and pre- 
sented to the leaders of the three parties, but 



80 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
it failed to meet with the necessary unanimous 
acceptance. The Liberal party assented to the 
proposition without reserve. The Independent 
Nationalists approved of the general plan, but 
stipulated for certain modifications. The party 
in power, the Moderates, were irreconcilably 
opposed to the conditions. 

President Palma called a special session of 
Congress, in order to tender to it his resigna- 
tion, which was accompanied by that of the Vice 
President. The Congress accepted the resigna- 
tions and immediately adjourned without ta- 
king further action in the matter, so that the 
principal executive offices of the Eepublic were 
left vacant, and the country was without a gov- 
ernment. 

At this juncture Secretary Taft issued the 
following proclamation, establishing the Pro- 
visional Government in Cuba: 

" To the people of Cuba: 

" The failure of Congress to act on the irrev- 
ocable resignation of the President of Cuba, 
or to elect a successor, leaves this country with- 
out a government at a time when great disorder 
prevails, and requires that, pursuant to a re- 
quest of President Palma, the necessary steps 



Cuba in Transition 81 

be taken in the name and by the authority 
of the President of the United States, to restore 
order, protect life and property in the Island 
of Cuba and Islands and Keys adjacent thereto, 
and for this purpose to establish therein a pro- 
visional government. 

" The provisional government hereby estab- 
lished by direction and in the name of the Presi- 
dent of the United States will be retained only 
long enough to restore order and peace and 
public confidence, and then to hold such elec- 
tions as may be necessary to determine those 
persons upon whom the permanent government 
of the Republic should be devolved. 

"In so far as is consistent with the nature 
of a provisional government established under 
the authority of the United States, this will be 
a Cuban government conforming as far as pos- 
sible to the Constitution of Cuba. 



" I ask all citizens and residents of Cuba to 
assist in the work of restoring order, tranquil- 
lity and public confidence. ,, 

The attitude of the Peace Commission met 
with general public approval. Although the in- 



82 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

surgents had thousands of men under arms, and 
the only American force landed was a squad of 
marines to protect the Treasury, the Provi- 
sional Government was installed without the 
faintest show of opposition. A general am- 
nesty was proclaimed, and the disarmament of 
the insurgents and newly raised militia was 
carried through without difficulty. 

Hon. Charles E. Magoon was appointed Pro- 
visional Governor, and officers of the United 
States army were detailed as advisers to the 
acting secretaries of the Cuban executive de- 
partments. 

A new electoral law, recommended by the 
Provisional Governor, was adopted, and under 
it a general election was held in November, 
1908, without the least disturbance, although it 
had been preceded by a vigorous political 
campaign. The Liberal candidates, General 
Jose Miguel Gomez, for President, and Senor 
Alfredo Zayas, for Vice-President, were re- 
turned by a substantial majority and inaugu- 
rated January 28th, 1909. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY 

Notwithstanding the intimacy of our rela- 
tions with the Cubans for many years past, our 
people entertain the most hazy and confused 
ideas about them. It is difficult to make an 
American understand that there is any essen- 
tial difference between a Cuban and a Spaniard. 
He generally imagines that the distinction is 
nominal, or, if actual, that it rests entirely upon 
political status. Of the Americans who go to 
Cuba only a small proportion travel farther 
from Habana than the caves of Bellamar, and 
they imagine that they see the typical native in 
the men and women of the city. In this conclu- 
sion they fall very short of the mark. The Ha- 
banero is not the best and truest representative 
of his country. He must be sought in the rural 
districts and will most readily be found in 
Camaguey, where the percentage of pure whites 
is even greater than in the capital. The Cuban 
is fond of calling himself a Camagueyeno, and 

83 



84 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

this because the purest native blood of the 
Island has been found in that Province since 
the old days when it was a famous cattle-raising 
country. 

The Cuban is a Spaniard to the same extent 
as the American is English, and no more. Al- 
though the compositive mixture is greater in 
one type than in the other, they exhibit equal 
divergence from the parent stock, both in the 
matter of physical and mental characteristics. 
This, without reference to the native who is 
tinged with negro blood — the mulatto. He 
may conform closely to the traits and appear- 
ance of the creole, but then, again, he may dif- 
fer from him in the widest degree. 

The Spaniard, and especially the peasant of 
the provinces, from whom the Cuban is most 
often descended, is usually round-headed, 
broad-chested, and stocky. The Cuban is lanky, 
lean and slack limbed. His drooping shoulders, 
languid air, and listless gait, give the impres- 
sion of weak physique and lack of energy, an 
impression which is confirmed by a study of his 
habits. It might be supposed that, with the ad- 
vantage of acclimatization, he would be able 
to hold his own against the foreign settler, but 
such is very far from being the case. 



The People of the Country 85 

Immigrants of any race, but particularly 
those from Spain, appear to have no difficulty 
in competing successfully with the Cuban upon 
his native heath. This can not be altogether 
due to physical weakness and want of energy, 
and certainly not to deficiency of intelligence. 
Perhaps the chief reason of the Cuban's back- 
wardness is to be found in a constitutional ab- 
sence of ambition. For generations he has had 
no incentive to effort and the laissez faire state 
of mind has gradually become ingrained. 
Whether, with improved opportunity, his char- 
acter will undergo a change in this respect is 
beyond the range of safe prediction. The op- 
portunity has not yet been extended to him, 
despite superficial appearances. 

Critics of the Cubans are prone to speak of 
them contemptuously for the lack of certain 
qualities which we prize and the possession of 
certain defects which we despise. The charges 
are generally true, but the condemnation un- 
just, nevertheless. No people were ever more 
handicapped in their formative development. 
Numerous conditions, over which they had lit- 
tle, if any, control, have affected the Cubans 
physically, morally, politically, and economic- 
ally, — and the influences have, in the major- 



86 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ity of instances and in the most respects, been 
maleficent. Only since yesterday have the 
Cubans been free agents, and even to-day their 
freedom is qualified, the conduct of their Gov- 
ernment subject to a critical supervision, and 
their independence liable to sudden interrup- 
tion. They have had no more control of their 
making than a child has of its. They have al- 
ways been treated as irresponsible and incap- 
able beings. They have never had fair scope 
for initiative, nor a free field for endeavor. 
There has always been a pressure from above, 
crushing growth, independence, enterprise, and 
hope. 

Under the circumstances is it to be wondered 
at that the Cuban is deficient in backbone ; that 
he is vacillating and morally wobbly; that his 
somewhat effeminate, often handsome, and 
never coarse features bear a stamp of weakness 
which the most fiery pair of eyes will not suf- 
fice to counteract? "Would it not be surprising 
if he displayed any marked capacity for hard 
work, or facility for business? 

Pleasure loving, inclined to frivolity, cheery, 
and apparently philosophical, the Cuban yields 
to difficulties and sinks under reverses. It is 
his habit, fostered by temperament and envi- 



The People of the Country 87 

ronment, to follow the lines of least resistance, 
and the way leads him ultimately into a cul de 
sac, — a slough of stagnation. He has a quick 
intelligence and a lively imagination. He can 
plan shrewdly and with nice calculation, but he 
has neither the force nor the executive ability 
to carry out his designs. For a full century he 
has conspired to throw off the galling yoke of 
Spain, and he would never have done it but for 
the intervention of the United States. 

As a young man he is apt to be foppish, 
libidinous and indolent, in striking contrast to 
the sturdy little Spanish apprentice, of Habana. 
Cuban children are too often spoilt by fond 
and over indulgent parents. The effect upon 
the girls is modified by the restricted home life 
to which they are subjected. In the boys it 
shows in selfwilfulness, lack of principle and 
utter absence of respect for things that the 
Anglo Saxon is apt to reverence. 

The Cuban usually marries early, and he 
makes a good father, if, often, a questionable 
husband. Despite the fact that he can depend 
upon the continence of his wife, or, perhaps 
because of it, he is frequently guilty of infidel- 
ity to her. This, if she discovers it, she is likely 
to treat with a complacency that an American 



88 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
woman could not understand. It is a common 
boast of Cubans that no Cuban woman ever 
became a public prostitute. Whether or not 
this is true, there is a marked difference in the 
standard of marital virtue maintained by the 
sexes among them. In this, and other respects, 
the less said about the Cuban of Habana, the 
better. 

It is not on short acquaintance that a true 
gauge of the Cuban's character may be made. 
His surface air is one of self-respect and geni- 
ality, that hides the underlying egotistic selfish- 
ness and flaccidity. If educated, he has a cour- 
teous manner and polished address, while the 
poorest peasant displays a certain refinement 
and decided intelligence. I never remember to 
have seen a dull or stupid looking Cuban, but, 
perhaps, that is due less to mental quality than 
to the universal endowment of remarkably fine 
eyes. 

At first sight, you will like the Cuban, and 
you may continue to do so after you have 
learned to know him for a weak-minded brother, 
without any stable qualities in his composition. 
He has a subtle attractiveness which you will 
find it difficult to analyze. Perhaps it is his 
natural bonhomie and genuine affectionateness 



The People of the Country 89 



that draws you, and the undercurrent of naive 
childishness that blinds you to his faults. Un- 
like his arrogant cousin, the Spaniard, he is 
pathetically conscious of his shortcomings. 
Often a comic assertiveness will thinly cloak an 
uneasy realization of inferiority. 

And withal you will conclude that he is not 
a bad fellow at the bottom; that with half a 
chance he might have developed into a very 
different man. This idea will be strengthened 
when you come to know the guajiro. Mean- 
while you can not fail to speculate with mis- 
giving on the future of the country if its Gov- 
ernment is to remain in the hands of the white 
and parti-colored Cubans. You may base some 
hope on the recollection that the soil of this 
Island has bred not a few men of noble charac- 
ter and great talent, — but we will consider the 
subject more fully later on. 

The younger generation of the present upper 
class of Cubans is a source of hope and may 
perhaps prove to be the seed-bed of a different 
race. Their fathers were born to riches and 
enjoyed lives of ease and pleasure. Reckless 
extravagance and loss due to war, and the con- 
sequent commercial depressions, have reduced 
most of the wealthy families to ruin, or com- 



90 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

parative poverty. It is as much as they can do 
to afford their sons good educations. After 
leaving college they are compelled to earn their 
livelihood. The result of this changed condi- 
tion is already apparent in the display of more 
manly qualities and better principles. Of the 
many Cuban youths in our educational institu- 
tions, a large proportion give promise of lead- 
ing useful lives. 

What the Cuban seems to need more than 
anything else is to develop virility and hard 
common sense. If he should do this in combi- 
nation with the better application of some of 
his natural talents, he will present himself to 
the world as a very admirable man. Mean- 
while, it is always to be remembered that he 
was freed from his swaddling clothes but yes- 
terday. He never before had a fair chance to 
grow, to stretch his limbs, to think and act for 
himself. We do not know what he can do or 
what he may become until he has been tested 
through two generations, at least. 

The foregoing is written, in the main, with 
the Cubans of the cities and towns in mind — : 
the men of what are commonly called the ' ' bet- 
ter class." The guajiro, the white Cuban peas- 
ant of the rural districts, is in several respects 



The People of the Country 91 

a different fellow. But, before we proceed to 
a description of him, let us take a view of la 
hija del pais, the daughter of the country. 

From the time that she first begins to walk, 
until she is handed over, too often against her 
inclination, to a husband, the Cuban girl is 
under surveillance. Whether this close guard- 
ianship is prompted by fear of the evil de- 
signs of the young men of her acquaintance, by 
anxiety about her own tendencies to go astray, 
or both, is not clear. Perhaps the old Spanish 
custom is unnecessary and is maintained 
merely because it is an established practice. 
Be that as it may, the Cuban girl is not allowed 
any kind of intercourse with the other sex, ex- 
cept for the members of her own family, until 
she leaves her father's house for that of her 
husband, unless it be under supervision. Occa- 
sionally lovers contrive to exchange a few 
words privately through the bars of a ground 
floor window, but the proceeding is not counte- 
nanced by the maiden 's mother, and may entail 
a penance in expiation of the bold defiance of 
the laws of etiquette and modesty. 

The little Cubana is escorted to school and 
thence home again. Her little brother goes to 
a separate institution. It would not be at all 



92 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

proper for boys and girls to read their primers 
upon the same benches, or even in the same 
room. Later on, when she has grown to be a big 
girl and of an age at which an American miss is 
supposed to take care of herself, the Cuban 
is still treated as if it were not safe to leave her 
alone for a moment. She goes to the theatre 
or plaza with her mother, and young men 
of her acquaintance cast languishing glances 
at her from the foyer, or the benches along the 
walk. One of them may be particularly favored 
by her parents and he may be permitted to call 
upon her, but he will never be permitted to see 
her, except in the presence of a sister, or a less 
sympathetic cluena. Their courtship is carried 
on without any of the sweet tete-a-tetes that are 
as essential to Anglo Saxon love-making as 
mustard is to ham. I presume, although I have 
made no precise enquiry on the subject, that 
most Cuban girls of good families do not kiss 
the men to whom they are married until after 
the priestly benediction has been pronounced 
upon the union. 

No nation can boast women more comely than 
the daughters of Cuba. Often their features 
are strikingly attractive and sometimes ex- 
tremely beautiful, despite the disfiguring cas- 



The People of the Country 93 

carilla, or powdered egg-shell, which is plas- 
tered on the, face with ghastly effect. If the 
Cub ana had vivacity, or even expression, she 
would be irresistibly charming. But her coun- 
tenance, though not lacking in intelligence, is 
apt to be placid to the point of dulness. This 
is the more remarkable because her Spanish 
grandmother was probably a woman of verve 
and sparkle, with flashing, big black eyes, 
which in her descendant are just as big and 
black, but languid and unresponsive. Though 
blondes are not extremely rare among the 
Cuban women, the prevailing type is dark, with 
blue-black hair in abundant quantity. The 
cubana matures early and fades correspond- 
ingly soon. A fully developed woman at thir- 
teen, she is often married at that age, or 
shortly after, and is probably the mother of 
several children before she has passed out of 
her teens. Her good looks wane and her figure 
becomes embonpoint, if not corpulent, at an age 
when the Anglo-Saxon woman still presents the 
appearance of youth. 

One who had only known la senorita might 
be disposed to think that Cuban women have 
little character or individuality. It is as 
mothers that they display their best traits. 



94 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

From the day of her marriage, La Cub ana de- 
votes her life to her home and family. She is 
a willing slave to her husband and children, 
often with bad effect upon him and them. A 
little more independence, a little less self-sacri- 
fice, on her part, would be better for all parties 
concerned. But every Cuban girl is taught that 
her sole mission in life is to fulfill her duty as 
wife and mother to the best of her ability. She 
has been schooled to consider herself the abso- 
lute property of her husband and to render him 
unquestioned obedience. 

She is prone to jealousy but slow to resent 
neglect and unfaithfulness. Sad to say, this 
devoted creature too often loses the love of her 
husband with the decline of her beauty. She 
seldom has the strength of character or the 
intellectual attractions necessary to hold him 
when the physical charm has lost its force. 

Religion is the only other interest of the 
Cuban lady, and she has a monopoly of it, for 
the men of her class are almost universally ir- 
religious. During the revolutionary period, 
when free-thought doctrines were rife in Eu- 
rope and America, the Cubans of the cities be- 
came addicted to reading the works of Voltaire, 
Rousseau, and their Italian disciples. The re- 



The People of the Country 95 

suit was a deterioration of religious belief, 
from which the Cubans have never recovered. 
Although they are sometimes apparently zeal- 
ous in the observance of the rites and ceremo- 
nies of the Church, it is probably more from a 
love of music and of pageantry than from devo- 
tional motives. The most regular attendant of 
mass is apt to speak lightly of his faith and its 
representatives and to laugh at the scurrilous 
cartoons, caricaturing the Church and its min- 
isters, which frequently appear in the newspa- 
pers and the shop-windows. No doubt the con- 
duct of some of the clergy in Cuba, as in other 
Latin-American countries, has done much 
toward destroying respect for the cloth and 
devotion to the faith. Then again the fact that 
the Church was allied with the official oppress- 
ors, although many priests sympathized with 
the natives, had its effect for alienation. Were 
it not for its female adherents, the Church in 
Cuba would cease to be a national institution 
to-morrow. La cubana, however, is a fervent 
devotee, constant in her attendance at mass and 
confession. 

The Cuban woman is the most conservative 
of beings and a stickler for the proprieties. She 
is very matter of fact, very serious, and utterly 



96 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

destitute of humor. Her life is passed in a 
narrow groove, with little but birth, marriage, 
and death, to vary it. Her world is contained 
in the town of which she is resident, and per- 
haps within a few squares of it. What hap- 
pens outside these boundaries is nothing to her. 
She seldom cares for reading, her sole accom- 
plishments are embroidering and piano-play- 
ing, her chief diversion, gossiping with her 
neighbors. She is never taught to take an in- 
terest in household work and knows nothing 
about cooking. 

But withal she is womanly, warm-hearted, 
hospitable, and often extremely charming. 

The Cubans are the most democratic of peo- 
ple. The ragged peasant maintains a digni- 
fied attitude toward all men, which conveys the 
impression of a nicely balanced respect for him- 
self and for his fellow. His landlord, or his 
employer, meets him upon his own ground and 
the relations between them are frequently char- 
acterized by friendly familiarity. The revolu- 
tionary period, with its levelling processes and 
its common interests, tended to make this con- 
dition more pronounced. It also had the effect 
of almost obliterating the color-line, which had 
previously been but faint. The right of the 



The People of the Country 97 

black and mulatto to call themselves " cuba- 
nos " could hardly be disputed in a country 
which owes its freedom in so great a degree to 
their efforts. 

The lowest Cuban of the country will wel- 
come you with dignified self-possession to the 
hut in which his naked children are tumbling 
about among the pigs and the chickens. You 
will have no difficulty in realizing that you may 
not pity nor patronize him, however miserable 
his condition may appear to be. He will be 
glad to do you a service for pay, and will over- 
charge you if you permit, but you can not offer 
him a gratuity without risk of offence. His air 
of independence is not without a basis of fact 
for its justification. His simple needs are sup- 
plied with little labor. He works when he 
wants to, and loafs when he pleases. 

The guajiro, or white peasant of Cuba, is first 
cousin to the gibaro of Puerto Rico, whom I 
have described in a former volume. 1 They are 
much alike in character and in manner of liv- 
ing, but the former is the better man. He has 
not had to contend against the hookworm, which 
has played havoc with the Puerto Rican cam- 

1 America's Insular Possessions, Philadelphia, 1906, vol. 1, 
pp. 98-101. 



98 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

pesino, and he has gained something in fibre 
and backbone from his hard experience as com- 
batant or reconcentrado in the rebellions of late 
years. 

The ancestors of the guajiro came mainly 
from Catalonia and Andalusia, and were a 
good, hardy stock. Time was when he occa- 
sionally owned slaves and a fair extent of land, 
but nowadays he is more often than not a squat- 
ter in a little corner of that no-man's-land 
which seems to be so extensive in the central 
and eastern portions of the Island. In com- 
paratively few instances he has title to a few 
acres, lives in a passably comfortable cabana, 
possesses a yoke of oxen, a good horse, half a 
dozen pigs, and plenty of poultry. Much more 
often he lives in a ramshackle bohio, the one 
apartment of which affords indifferent shelter 
to a large family and is fairly shared by a lean 
hog and a few scrawny chickens. There is 
nothing deserving the name of furniture in the 
house, and the clothing of the family is of the 
scantiest. A nag of some sort, usually a sorry 
specimen of its kind, is almost always owned by 
the guajiro, who loves a horse and rides like 
the gaucho of the Argentine pampas. 

The guajiros are handsome, manly fellows. 



The People of the Country 99 

While they have frequently become tinged with 
African blood, a majority probably have main- 
tained the purity of their origin, and this is 
conspicuously the case with the peasantry about 
Cienfuegos. They speak a patois which is a 
mixture of Spanish and negro dialect, picked 
up from the blacks, with whom their inter- 
course has always been more or less close, and 
with whom they live on the best of terms. 

The guajiro is totally lacking ambition and 
his chief desire is to be left alone to live his life 
in his own way. If he is frugal, it is from 
necessity. Of thrift he has no understanding. 
"What he earns to-day he carelessly spends to- 
morrow. Indeed he knows no reason for earn- 
ing except to spend. It would be strange if his 
characteristics were otherwise. He has never 
had any opportunity to improve his condition, 
nor any incentive to accumulate property. He 
has become accustomed to living from hand to 
mouth with indifferent regard to the future. 
He works when he must and ceases as soon as 
he may. In that respect he is merely giving 
full play to an inclination that is strong in all 
of us. 

The guajiro lives chiefly on bananas and 
other fruit. Aside from an occasional iguana, 



loo Cuba and Her People of To-day 

or jutea, pork is the only meat he eats. This, 
contrary to our idea of the fitness of things in 
the tropics, is a frequent and favorite dish with 
all classes of Cubans. He sometimes varies his 
bill of fare with a fish or a bull-frog. 

The one trait of his Spanish forefathers 
which the guajiro retains in undiminished 
strength, is love of gambling. He is supported 
through a week of loathsome labor by the pros- 
pect of wagering his wages at the cock-pit or 
bull-ring on Sunday. He enjoys music and 
dancing with the whole-hearted delight of a 
child. As most of the observances of the 
Church have something of a gala character 
they attract him, and he finds a pious excuse 
for attending them. Weddings, christenings, 
funerals, are so many holidays in which it is a 
religious duty to take part. Of course all the 
fiestas are holy days and if he worked on all 
the days which are in no manner signalized by 
the Church, he would hardly labor half the 
time. 

The guajira does all the chores about the 
place, except for looking after the cattle. If 
these and the cooking leave any surplus time 
it is occupied in attending to the numerous 
brood of guajiritos, who are to be seen tumbling 



The People of the Country 101 

about every cabin of the Island in a state of 
unhampered nature. The guajira is the work- 
ing member of the family, but she gets her full 
share of the holidays, for her husband usually 
takes all his dependents with him when he goes 
to town to attend mass and patronize the cock- 
fight. Females are debarred from that delec- 
table entertainment and while it is in progress 
the guajira will foregather with others of her 
kind outside the village fonda and gossip over 
a glass of tamarind water. 

There used to be more saints ' days than Sun- 
days in the calendar, but the number is not so 
generally observed as formerly. In fact, the 
country population seems to be beginning to 
take a more serious view of life and to regard 
work as a somewhat essential part of it, rather 
than a necessary evil of intermittent character. 
As he has come into closer touch with civiliza- 
tion in latter days, the guajiro has become sen- 
sibly discontented with his simple lot and de- 
sirous of many things of which he formerly 
knew nothing or toward which he was indif- 
ferent. 



CHAPTEE VI 

THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY (CONTINUED) 

Among those best acquainted with Cuba and 
the Cubans, opinion differs widely as to the 
negroes. There are those who go so far as to 
believe that they will be a retarding factor in 
the development of the country, while others 
consider them the most promising element of 
the laboring population. Both these views are 
extreme, and, as a matter of fact, any predic- 
tion as to the future of the Cuban negro must 
include a great degree of pure surmise. What 
he has been is not a safe basis for inference of 
what he will be under entirely different condi- 
tions. 

Mr. Charles M. Pepper, who has had excep- 
tional opportunities for judging, declares that 
" the negro of Cuba is not an idler, nor a clog 
on the industrial progress. He will do his part 
toward rebuilding the industries of the Island, 
and no capitalist need fear to engage in enter- 

102 



The People of the Country 103 

prises because of an indefinite fear regarding 
negro labor. In the country, for a time, the 
black laborers may be in a majority. On its 
political side the black population of Cuba has 
its definite status. Social equality does not ex- 
ist, but there is no color line. Social tolerance 
prevails. . . . The part taken in the insurrec- 
tion by the blacks has undoubtedly strength- 
ened their future influence. . . . The race has 
far more than its proportion of criminals. 
Some tendencies toward retrogression have to 
be watched. . . . With common-school educa- 
tion the negro will do better. At present he is 
doing very well." 

As to this dictum, the Cuban negro may 
eventually do his fair share toward the indus- 
trial development of the Island, but it can only 
be as a result of a considerable change in his 
habits and a greatly increased degree of effi- 
ciency. At present, extensive employers of 
labor pronounce him inefficient, unreliable, and 
difficult of control. It is not to his credit that 
they should import labor at great trouble and 
expense in preference to employing him. If 
capitalists have ceased to be apprehensive re- 
garding the negro of Cuba, which is by no 
means certain, — it is not because he has sud- 



104 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

denly ceased to have a desire for disturbance, 
with its attendant opportunities for loot, but 
because they have greater confidence in the abil- 
ity and inclination of the authorities to sup- 
press outbreaks with promptness, born of the 
ever-present fear of American intervention, or 
a demand on the part of foreign property inter- 
ests for some share in the administration of' 
affairs. 

Though individuality is not one of the negro 
characteristics, the perpetuation of racial 
traits and temperament are pronouncedly 
characteristic wherever they may be found and 
under whatever conditions. The negro may be 
three centuries removed from his transplanted 
ancestor, he may have more than one strain 
of white blood in his composition, he may have 
adopted the most approved customs of the 
country in which he lives, and may be to all 
outward appearances the most highly civilized 
of beings, but for all that African nature is 
strong in him. Moreover its promptings are 
not repressed from principle, but from motives 
of self-interest. Given the opportunity to in- 
dulge them without fear of consequences, and 
he will follow his inclinations unrestrainedly. 
For that reason one-third of Cuba's population 



The People of the Country 105 

must be as great a source of anxiety as is the 
colored element of our southern States. This 
is not to say that there are any good grounds 
for the sometimes expressed fear that Cuba 
may become a second Haiti, controlled by the 
blacks, but is intended to convey the belief, that 
in the negroes of the Island there is a con- 
stantly present source of possible trouble. 

The majority of Cuban negroes are descend- 
ants of slaves imported during the past cen- 
tury, but a large number, like the maroons of 
Jamaica, come from a stock which accompanied 
the earliest Spanish adventurers and shared 
their hardships and dangers in a companion- 
ship that often approached a condition of 
friendship and equality. Such a one was 
Estavan, the negro who, with Cabeza de Vaca, 
crossed the continent of North America, from 
the Gulf of Mexico to California, in the years 
between 1528 and 1536. From this stock 
sprang the free mulattoes of the Antonio Maceo 
type, a class superior to any that our colored 
population contains. 

Although emancipated at a later date, the 
Cuban negroes are in general more manly and 
independent than those of the United States. 
This is due to the social and the political recog- 



106 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

nition accorded them, but also to the previous 
conditions of their servitude. Before the abo- 
lition of slavery they were granted freedom of 
marriage, the right of acquiring property, the 
privilege of purchasing their release by labor, 
and license to seek a new master at their option. 

The negro of Cuba is much more happy and 
content than his brother in America. The bur- 
dens of life do not press so heavily on him. He 
has greater opportunity of enjoyment of the 
three conditions most desirable to the man of 
African descent, warmth, indolence, and a full 
stomach. The climate and the physical nature 
of the country are entirely to his liking. He 
thrives in Cuba and is more robust than the 
white native, as well as more prolific, which is 
saying a great deal. He and his women and 
children withstood the stress and strain of the 
reconcentration better than did the guajiro 
class. 

I am fully aware that these statements seem 
to be contradicted by the census returns, which 
show a marked diminution of the colored popu- 
lation during the past half century. In the last 
United States report this is accounted for by 
" the inability of the colored race to hold its 
own in competition with the whites." This 



The People of the Country 107 

does not seem to be sufficient explanation, espe- 
cially as there has been no competition to speak 
of between the whites and the blacks in Cuba. 
Without pretending to any precise knowledge 
on the subject, I will hazard the suggestion that 
the apparent discrepancy may be due to the 
defects in the censuses under Spain, which were 
notoriously inaccurate, to the latter day tend- 
ency of mulattoes to return themselves as 
' ' whites, ' ' and to the fact that the colored por- 
tion of the population has borne more than its 
proportional share of the brunt of the later 
revolutions. Be that as it may, it will be diffi- 
cult for any one who is familiar with the lives 
and conditions of the natives of Cuba to believe 
that ' ' the man of color " is in any but a favor- 
able and congenial environment. 

The dance is the favorite amusement of the 
rural population. As the whites practise it, it 
is a monotonous movement to monotonous 
music, entirely lacking the grace and variety 
of the Spanish dances. The negroes merely 
writhe and wriggle to the slow beat of a drum. 
There is always a suggestion of obscenity pres- 
ent, and sometimes religious frenzy transforms 
the performance from the ludicrous to the 
weird. On such occasions the dancers and the 



108 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
onlookers chant invocations to the saints in an 
African dialect. 
Certain religio-social societies, called cabildos, 
appear to have no other purpose than the con- 
duct of these ceremonies. The cabildos are 
supposed to be the only survival of the nanigo 
clans, which the authorities claim to have sup- 
pressed, although it is very doubtful whether 
the organizations have been broken up. The 
nanigos practised all manner of sinister mys- 
teries, witchcraft, voodooism, and the rest, be- 
sides active participation in underground pol- 
itics. No longer ago than the time of the Pro- 
visional Administration some of their members 
were convicted of killing and cutting up two 
white children in the performance of their 
secret rites. Roman Catholicism and African 
demon-worship have become grotesquely mixed 
in the ceremonies of the negro secret societies. 
Goats and fowls are sacrificed to the saints of 
the Church ; the Holy Mother is invoked in bar- 
baric terms, accompanied by a symbolism that 
originated in the wilds of Africa. 

Until comparatively recently the sixth of 
January was observed as " All King's Day," 
when the negroes held high carnival all over 
the Island. They took possession of Habana 



The People of the Country 109 

and thronged the streets, dancing, gesticulating, 
shouting, and beating drums, dressed in fantas- 
tic costumes made up of the gaudiest colors, 
and carrying a variety of transparencies on 
long poles. The shops were closed, and the 
whites remained within doors, for not infre- 
quently rival clans came to blows and serious 
conflicts occurred in the public streets. 

After the War most of the, Spaniards left 
Cuba, filled with resentment against Ameri- 
cans. When order and liberal government had 
been established they began to come back, still 
filled with resentment against the people who 
had interfered with their ruinous exploitation 
of the Island. This feeling has rapidly died 
down. The Spaniard, who has as keen and 
critical appreciation as any man of commercial 
conditions, soon realized that he and his gov- 
ernment were distinct gainers by the loss of the 
Philippines and Cuba. He was no longer called 
upon to support costly armies in those coun- 
tries, nor to do his share of service in them. 
But what impressed him most was that Cuba 
had become a much more desirable place, on 
every account, in which to do business than it 
had ever been before. As a consequence, na- 
tives of Spain have been immigrating to the 



no Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Island in constantly increasing numbers dur- 
ing recent years, and making more money, 
whether as merchants, shop-keepers or labor- 
ers, than they possibly could make at home in 
the same employments. They are good citizens 
and capable in their several callings, but most 
of them are what the Cubans call intransigent es 
— transients. The bodeguero and the field- 
hand alike view the country as a field for 
money-making solely and have no thought of 
permanently settling in it, much less of becom- 
ing naturalized. The shop-keeper looks for- 
ward to retiring as soon as he shall have ac- 
cumulated enough to enable him to live com- 
fortably in some rural district in Spain, and 
the laborer often goes back between harvests, 
with his season's earnings, to his native prov- 
ince, where he has left his family. Of course 
the proper remedy for this condition is the oc- 
cupation by Cubans of the positions filled by 
the Spaniards, but so far the former have dis- 
played neither inclination nor capacity to com- 
pete with the foreigners. Under such circum- 
stances the Spanish immigration may be looked 
upon as a desirable factor in the development 
of the Island. 
The commercial instinct and the qualities 



The People of the Country ill 

that make for success in business are unusually 
strong in the Spaniard. This fact is not gener- 
ally realized in America. There must be two 
hundred thousand Spaniards in Cuba, practi- 
cally all of whom are steadily engaged in prof- 
itable pursuits. It is doubtful if an equal num- 
ber of native whites are earning money day in 
and day out through the year, or any definite 
period of it. Spaniards own large interests in 
the sugar and tobacco businesses. Throughout 
the country they control the mercantile lines, 
wholesale and retail. They are money-lenders 
in the small districts and furnish the farmers, 
at exorbitant rates of interest, with the means 
of raising and marketing their crops. 

It is not at all surprising that the Cuban can 
not compete with his cousin from the mother- 
country. I am very doubtful whether Amer- 
icans would be successful in the attempt. The 
Spanish business man is as keen and shrewd 
a trader as you may find anywhere, and, more- 
over, he is as precise in discharging his obli- 
gations as a Chinaman. He possesses tremen- 
dous energy and pertinacity of purpose. 
Americans cherish a threadbare and somewhat 
senseless joke which hinges on the word 
manana. It is entirely misapplied when aimed 



112 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

at the Spaniard in Cuba. If he leaves anything 
of importance until to-morrow it is because to- 
day is too full of performance to admit of addi- 
tion. He is the first to rise and the last to close 
his shutters in the community. Meanwhile* he 
keeps as closely on the trail of the elusive dol- 
lar as any New Yorker. But there is this dif- 
ference ; he does his business without needless 
fuss and friction. 

In the city stores, the old-time system of ap- 
prenticeship is maintained. The proprietors 
probably started in the position of the little 
office boy, with the bloom of Catalonia fresh 
upon his cheeks, who sweeps out the place when 
most folks are turning over for a final nap, and 
spends an hour or more in straightening up 
after every one else has knocked off for the day. 
He is a strong, cheerful little chap, content 
with his lot, and doubtless encouraged by 
dreams of directing the establishment at some 
future day. And this is no idle fantasy but a 
matter well within the bounds of calculable 
attainment. The system is one of regular ad- 
vancement. When a partner retires, which he 
is apt to do at a comparatively early age, the 
senior clerk takes his place and each of the 
others moves up a step. As soon as an em- 



The People of the Country 113 

ploye is in a position to save something from 
his salary, he is permitted to invest it in the 
business. 

A sort of family relationship is maintained 
in the establishment. The heads of it take the 
greatest interest in the business education and 
general welfare of their employes, who are 
generally sons of friends at home. All eat at 
the same table and all sleep under the same 
roof. The juniors have to account for their 
time even after closing hours. Only with per- 
mission may they leave the premises. Then 
they will probably spend their evenings at one 
or other of the numerous societies which have 
their headquarters in Habana and branches in 
other large cities. 

These societies are social and beneficial in 
their functions. They maintain night-schools, 
pay sick benefits, and provide burial expenses. 
Some of them have a very large membership 
and extremely handsome clubhouses. Every 
Spaniard on landing at Habana joins the soci- 
ety which is composed of natives of his prov- 
ince. 

At every cross-roads in Cuba and on every 
corner in the country towns there is a bodega. 
It is always a grocery, often a general store. 



114 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
Mne times in ten the proprietor is a Spaniard. 
His place may be a dingy, dilapidated shack. 
His stock may consist of little more than a 
barrel of the inevitable bacalao, — salt cod, — 
a few strings of onions, and a dozen bottles of 
aguadiente. Bnt it is safe to wager that he is 
making money at a handsome rate of interest 
on his little investment. 

Why is the Chinaman, who is the most inof- 
fensive of beings, disliked more universally 
than any other? It may be because he is snch 
an unsociable, self-contained, enigmatical fel- 
low. In Cuba, as in the States, he lives in the 
midst of the community and far apart from it, 
restricting his intercourse with the natives to 
the necessities of business. He may have been 
born in the country, and intend to die in it, but, 
unless his mother was a native, he will never 
be anything else than a Chinaman, even though 
he adopt a frock coat and a silk hat. He works 
hard, lives frugally, and accumulates money by 
fair and square methods. His sole indulgences 
are fan tan and the opium pipe. He figures but 
seldom in the police records, and then, as likely 
as not, through the fault of someone else. 

In the early part of the last century a number 
of Chinese were imported under contract as 



The People of the Country 115 

laborers in the cane-fields. Each one had a 
metal tag strung round his neck, with a num- 
ber and the expiry date of the contract on it. 
Once received on the sugar-estate, the coolie 
was reduced to a state of slavery, measurably 
worse than that in which the negroes were held. 
He had no privileges whatever, was miserably 
housed, insufficiently fed, and received less con- 
sideration than the cattle and horses. When 
the legal date of his release approached, his 
identification check was frequently changed to 
make him appear to be another man with a con- 
siderable period of service in prospect. 

This condition of things went on for many 
years, until at length knowledge of it reached 
the Chinese Government. A commission was 
sent from China to investigate the matter, with 
the result that exportation of laborers from the 
Celestial Kingdom to Cuba was stopped. 
Nowadays, there is an insular statute against 
the importation, but they come in, nevertheless, 
and find their way to the sugar-houses of the 
interior, apparently without enquiry or inter- 
ference. 

There are more than ten thousand Chinamen 
in Cuba at present. A considerable number are 
engaged as merchants and shop-keepers in 



116 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Habana, and many work truck-farms in the 
suburbs with much profit. 

Perhaps the most remarkable of the many- 
remarkable things about a Chinaman is his 
adaptability. Any one seeing him ironing 
shirts in the States might suppose that he was 
exercising an inherited talent. But he never 
saw an iron before coming to America and took 
to the calling because there was an evident un- 
filled demand for the work. He is not a laun- 
dryman in Cuba, because when he arrived the 
field was already occupied by the negroes. On 
the other hand, there was a distinctly felt want 
of market gardeners, and John jumped into the 
opening without hesitation. He would have 
acted with the same prompt decision had the 
need been for burglars or balloonists. He takes 
up one line of work as readily as another and 
whatever he attempts he does well. It mat- 
ters not whether the hole be round or square, 
his plastic personality will fit in it snugly. 
When he went to Calcutta, he found that there 
was no one to make shoes and paint portraits 
in manner satisfactory to the Englishman. He 
calmly and confidently undertook to do both. 
It is quite unnecessary to state that he suc- 
ceeded. But when you consider the essential 



The People of the Country 117 

differences between European and Chinese art, 
both in conception and execution, as well as the 
fact that the Chinese emigrant is not usually 
deeply versed in either, the result was simply 
miraculous. 

Three favorite occupations of John China- 
man in Cuba are cooking, peddling sweetmeats, 
and keeping a fruit-stand. In each of these 
fields he has had to meet native competition, 
and in his quiet, forceful way he soon over- 
came it, although in the second he had serious 
difficulties to master. In short time he had 
learned to make better dulces than the Cubans 
had been accustomed to, but when it came to 
advertising his wares, he found himself hope- 
lessly handicapped by a naturally weak voice 
when pitted against the Cuban hawker, who has 
no superior in the world as a street crier. 
However, with the Chinaman, the next thing to 
being confronted with an obstacle is to over- 
come it. John mounted a long red box upon 
his head and on this drummed continuously 
with a hardwood stick. In the course of time 
the Cuban women and children forsook the man 
who bawled frantically for the silent man who 
beat a box. 

The acclimated, it would be altogether incor- 



118 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

rect to say the naturalized, Chinaman in Cuba 
has been shorn of his pigtail, wears the same 
free shirt, and pantaloons as the native, and is 
called Jose, or Miguel, but if you should go into 
the back room of his store, you would find a 
vase of joss sticks burning before the shrine 
of his repulsive looking deity. 

There are very few Chinese women in the 
country and John is usually a celibate, but oc- 
casionally he marries a negress or mulatto. 
The children are generally bright, and often 
good-looking. The Chinaman is an excellent 
husband and father in such cases. 

Probably all these sallow- skinned taciturn 
Celestials yearn for their mother-country while 
they patiently plod through life in an uncon- 
genial environment. At least they have the 
satisfaction of knowing that when they die their 
bones will be shipped back to be buried in the 
land of their fathers. Meanwhile their num- 
bers are increasing in Cuba and it is easily con- 
ceivable that the country may have a Chinese 
problem to grapple with some day. 

Numerically the Americans are not an im- 
portant element in the foreign population but 
they represent more wealth and greater busi- 
ness than any other. There are about seven 



The People of the Country 119 

thousand white citizens of the United States, 
more or less permanently resident on the 
Island. A large proportion of the sugar and 
tobacco estates, as well as extensive railroad 
and mining properties, are in American hands. 
A few Americans are engaged in wholesale 
business and a considerable number in fruit 
culture. I shall have more to say about these 
in a later portion of the volume. 

The first American occupation was the signal 
for a number of swindlers, loafers, and topers 
from the United States to take up residence in 
Habana. They caused endless trouble to the 
American officials and created a bad impres- 
sion among the natives. By degrees this class 
has been almost entirely eradicated and the 
Cubans long since learned that they were in no 
sense representative of their countrymen. The 
American in Cuba to-day is either a responsible 
business man, or an industrious farmer, whom 
the people of the country look upon with re- 
spect, and with whom they are generally upon 
the most friendly footing. 



CHAPTEE VII 

THE CONDITION OF CUBA 

Here is a country, small in extent, it is true, 
but as rich proportionally in natural resources 
as any in the world. It exports over $100,000,- 
000 worth of the products of its soil annually. 
Yet less than half of its productive area is 
turned to account, and of its cultivated tracts 
only a small proportion is subjected to inten- 
sive treatment. Bad government and ill-judged 
commercial policy have retarded the develop- 
ment of the country which, under favorable 
conditions, might to-day be producing five 
times its output and supporting a population 
five times as great as that which it has. It is 
importing large quantities of foodstuff that 
ought to be raised upon its lands and paying 
substantial sums for foreign labor that should 
be supplied by its own people. 

The economic condition of Cuba is as un- 
favorable as possible to the welfare of its popu- 

120 



The Condition of Cuba 121 

lation. Foreigners own practically everything 
in the country. The Island is exploited for the 
benefit of everyone but the natives. 

Additional capital is constantly coming in. 
New enterprises are continually being floated. 
In a way these are beneficial to the community 
at large, but, with the exception of the official 
class, they work little good to the natives. In 
fact, they decrease the Cuban's chances of ever 
doing anything for himself. Capital and cor- 
porations create wealth, but precious little of 
it finds its way into the pockets of the guajiro, 
or the negro. What the country needs, if ever 
its people are to become prosperous, is a 
greater diversity of industries with opportu- 
nities for the little man, and an increase in the 
small land-owners. There is a bare possibility 
of the former condition coming about ; the lat- 
ter is beyond the bounds of hope. There is no 
public domain for disposal to homesteaders. 
Practically all the land in the Island is occu- 
pied or held for sale at high figures. A very 
small proportion of the peasant class own their 
holdings. Many of them are merely squatters 
and others maintain possession on defective 
titles. 

The country that produces one great staple 



122 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

by the agency of slave labor lays itself under 
a curse that will be felt long after the condi- 
tions are changed. For well-nigh a century 
sugar-cane has been the one chief source of 
Cuba's wealth and it has cast a blight upon 
everything else. The sugar industry has exer- 
cised a detrimental influence upon the material 
welfare, morals, and health, and the independ- 
ence of the people in general. But for it, blacks 
would never have been introduced into the 
Island in numbers sufficient to affect seriously 
the general population. But for it, the larger 
estates, growing out of the system of reparti- 
miento, would long since have been carved into 
small holdings, the homesteads of peasant pro- 
prietors with some ambition and some oppor- 
tunity to lead a life of manly self-support. The 
Island might not have been so wealthy, it might 
not have afforded such rich pasture for the 
professional politician to browse in, nor have 
yielded such comfortable profits to American 
and British stock-holders, but its people would 
have been happier and in the way of enjoying 
greater and more stable prosperity than the 
present prospect holds for them. 

But this is an idle speculation. Foreigners 
own ninety per cent, of all the land in Cuba 



The Condition of Cuba 123 

that is worth working, and, since this is the 
case, the more foreign capital that comes in, 
the better for the country. In other words, the 
only outlook for the Cuban is to serve as a hired 
man. If he had any bent toward the mechan- 
ical industries and could command a little cap- 
ital, he might make innumerable openings in 
new directions for independent enterprises on 
a small scale. 

Cuba should support a variety of manufac- 
turing industries. It has the necessary mate- 
rials, — wood, fibres, metal, hides, etc. It im- 
ports many commodities that are made from 
raw material exported by it. In many of these 
cases it would be more profitable for the coun- 
try to produce the finished article. Before 
long, no doubt, the many opportunities long 
latent will attract enterprise, and industrial 
development along this line will take place. 
But even so, the Cuban can not hope to play a 
very prominent or profitable part in the move- 
ment. The extension of education and manual 
training may better fit him for mechanical pur- 
suits but lack of capital will prevent his aspir- 
ing to any higher position than that of work- 
man. 

There is little doubt about the future pros- 



124 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

perity of the Island along the present lines of 
exploitation. There is good reason for believ- 
ing that cane sugar will come into its own again, 
and that before long. Germany is likely to tire 
soon of coddling the beet cultivators in the face 
of foreign discrimination against them. Im- 
provements in the cultivation of cane and in 
the selection of the plant are to be looked for. 
Labor-saving devices will be introduced into 
the fields. The invention of a satisfactory cane 
harvester would revolutionize that branch of 
industry. 

The great future development of the Island 
will take place at the eastern end. Oriente is 
the most promising, and probably the richest, 
section of Cuba. Several large corporations 
have heavy investments in the Province. Its 
mineral wealth has hardly been touched. It is 
an especially favorable region for the cultiva- 
tion of citrus fruits and coffee. These indus- 
tries will be extensively prosecuted by Amer- 
icans, of whom there are already a number 
located in colonies and individual planta- 
tions. 

Cuba is growing constantly in favor with 
Americans as a health resort and, with the ex- 
tension of roads fit for motoring, pleasure 



The Condition of Cuba 125 

seekers from the United States will travel on 
the Island in increasing numbers. There is a 
tendency among well-to-do Americans to make 
winter homes in Cuba and to build residences 
in the capital and suburbs. All this will lead 
to a better knowledge of the country and a 
great interest in its industries with consequent 
additional investment of capital. There ap- 
pears to be little room for doubting that ulti- 
mately American money and American man- 
agement will dominate the industrial and com- 
mercial affairs of the Island. 

Only one retarding factor mars the prospect 
of progress — that is the deficiency of labor 
supply. Doubtless a large part will be for 
years to come imported from southern Europe, 
and this of necessity. If these, or a consider- 
able proportion of them, could be induced to 
settle in the country they would form a desir- 
able addition to the population. At present, 
few of them display an inclination to remain, 
but, on the contrary, make Cuba the means of 
furnishing them with sufficient money to set up 
in a small way of business at home. 

The most easily available source of supply is 
the Jamaican negro, but he is not a valuable 
acquisition. His efficiency is calculated by em- 



126 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



ployers as less than half that of the Spaniard, 
or native of the Canary Islands. Negroes from 
the United States might seek employment in 
the Island, but the kind who would be of the 
most use can always find work at home at as 
good a rate of wages as they would receive in 
Cuba. 

It is not to be assumed that the native will 
never supply the greatest part of the labor em- 
ployed in his country. He would be available 
to-day to a greater extent and with greater 
efficiency if American managers understood 
him better and accorded him more judicious 
treatment. 

Dr. V. S. Clark, in a government report, 
makes such an excellent and comprehensive 
statement regarding the Cuban laborer, that an 
extensive quotation is justified. 

Some of the opinions of Cuban workingmen 
are given in the following quotations from the 
remarks by American and English employers 
of broad experience. It is not possible to have 
perfect agreement in judgments of this sort, 
and naturally no attempt has been made to do 
so. But those sweeping denunciations of Cuba 
and everything Cuban that come from tactless 
adventurers and from men who have left their 



The Condition of Cuba 127 

own country because they are chronically out 
of sorts with the world have been omitted : 

A railway manager : " A Cuban seldom has a 
real conception of what is meant by special 
qualifications. On railways a man might oc- 
cupy in succession a dozen different posts, each 
requiring a special kind of training. "We have 
an instance where the same man has been sta- 
tion agent, telegraph superintendent, and su- 
perintendent of locomotive power within a few 
months' time." 

A contracting foreman : "In the mechanic 
trades men are constantly presenting them- 
selves as applicants for any positions to be had, 
assuring us with the greatest apparent candor 
that they unite all the qualifications of expert 
masons, carpenters, painters, plumbers, and 
gas-fitters. We don't employ such men any 
more. A modest range of acquirements is one 
of the best credentials a mechanic can offer us. ' ' 

A government engineer : ' ' The labor cost of 
all kinds of construction is half as much again 
as in the United States. But with time and 
patience intelligent Cuban mechanics can be 
trained to keep pretty well up with Americans 
on the same job. They will not do this, how- 
ever, unless they are paid for it." 



128 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

An English railway manager : ' ' After many 
years of experience in railway managing in 
Brazil and other South American conntries, I 
must say that the Cuban labor is the dearest 
labor I have ever had under my charge." 

A factory superintendent : ' ' We employ only 
Spaniards. They equal in industry and endur- 
ance the American workingman and are more 
steady and regular in their habits. I have had 
more than twenty years ' experience in Cuba as 
factory and plantation manager, and have sel- 
dom found Cubans efficient in occupations re- 
quiring physical endurance or manual skill. 
But they make neat and fairly accurate clerks. ' ' 

An army officer in charge of twelve hun- 
dred men in road construction: " The Cuban 
lahorer is not as strong physically nor as in- 
telligent as the unskilled laborer in the United 
States. He accomplishes about half as much 
work in a day as the latter. We bought a num- 
ber of the iron wheelbarrows commonly used 
by American contractors for our work here, but 
the men were not strong enough to handle them 
successfully, and I had to substitute wooden 
ones in their stead." 

An electric railway manager : ' ' You can not 
manage the Cubans with a club. The amount 



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The Condition of Cuba 129 



of work you get out of them depends upon the 
way in which you handle them. We find our 
men unusually distrustful because they have 
been so often cheated by their past employers. 
If their paymaster is a little late they jump at 
the conclusion that their money is not coming 
to them. It has taken time to win their confi- 
dence in the company. They do not understand 
how to take care of their own interests. Our 
unclaimed wage book shows that during the 
last two years many hundred men have not ap- 
plied for all the pay due to them. Probably 
ten per cent, of the whole number of common 
laborers employed thus fail to collect their full 
wages. On our fortnightly pay-clays fifty or 
sixty men fail to claim amounts ranging from 
one or two days' pay to as high as $20 or $30 
silver ($14 or $21 American). Of course such 
men are often imposed on, and a man who 
knows or thinks he is being cheated by his em- 
ployer isn't going to overexert himself in his 
service. An intelligent Cuban makes a good 
mechanic. He learns more rapidly than an 
American. It has taken me less time here to 
break in motormen than in the United States. 
In the last year or two we have trained most 
of our force of mechanics, repair men, and our 



130 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
armature winders. They are about as efficient 
as Americans." 

The head of an electrical supply house: 
" Labor conditions in Cuba have not changed 
materially since 1890. Cubans make efficient 
mechanics in our line of business. We also- 
employ them in contracting work, such as 
bridge construction, so that our monthly pay 
roll is sometimes over $6,000. They are slower 
than Americans, but are less independent and 
work longer hours. In electric fitting we get 
about as much service for the same wages 
as in New York. A man who has had long 
experience with the working people here, and 
who knows their language and how to treat 
them, will not have much trouble with his em- 
ployees, and will find them fairly efficient." 

A railway superintendent: " Spaniards are 
the future laborers of Cuba. But they will 
work mostly under the direction of Cubans. 
The amount you get out of men depends upon 
how well you pay and feed them. It is worth 
the money it costs an employer to provide and 
compel his common laborers to eat a substan- 
tial meal before going to work in the morning." 

The variety of opinions here expressed illus- 
trates the fact that the man in practical touch 



The Condition of Cuba 131 

with the labor question in Cuba usually has 
some aspect of the situation in mind which ap- 
peals to him from his own experience. As to 
labor efficiency, all agree that for manual labor 
the Spaniard excels the native Cuban. This 
is true of factory as well as field occupations. 
Cane-cutting must be excepted from the latter, 
for here the negro is the best workman ; and in 
the machine shops, and some mechanic trades, 
where a certain dexterity of mind as well as 
hand is required, the more nervous and intel- 
lectual Cuban is at an advantage. There is 
practical unanimity in the opinion that the cost 
of labor is high, the only exceptions being in 
some trades requiring much skill and intelli- 
gence and where the men work under the direct 
control of their employer. 

The emphasis laid upon the fact that the 
amount to be obtained from employes depends 
largely upon the way they are treated and the 
wages they are paid is significant, and it ac- 
cords fully with the other testimony and with 
observation in different parts of the Island. At 
one place a gang of laborers was just comple- 
ting what appeared even to the casual observer 
a rather scanty day's work. The foreman 
looked up with a half -vexed smile and said: 



132 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

" Their wages have been lowered 30 per cent., 
and no driving will get more than two-thirds 
of the former amount of work out of them. 
They simply shrug their shoulders and say: 
' Poco diner o, poco trabajo.' Little money, 
little work." 

Beneath a most unimposing exterior a Cuban 
laborer generally manages to cherish a consid- 
erable sense of personal dignity and he resents 
deeply, however unperturbed he may appear, 
the rough way of handling that has come to 
mean so little to his fellow-laborer in the United 
States. Perhaps the unexpressed contempt 
with which he is tolerated by some Americans 
is resented still more deeply. In any case, the 
very efforts put forth by employers and repre- 
sentatives to increase the amount of work done 
by employes often have the reverse effect to 
that intended. Tactful management is often 
one of the most expensive assets a foreign en- 
terprise has to acquire in Cuba. Cuba is one 
of the most democratic countries in the world. 
Nowhere else does the least considered member 
of a community aspire to social equality with 
its most exalted personage. The language, 
with its conventional phrases of courtesy 
shared by all classes, the familiar family life 



The Condition of Cuba 133 

of proprietor and servant, master and appren- 
tice, a certain simplicity and universality of 
manners inherited from pioneer days, and a 
gentleness of temperament that may be both 
racial and climatic, which shrinks from giving 
offence by assuming superiority of rank with 
others, have all contributed to render class as- 
sumptions externally less obvious in Cuba than 
in other countries where equal differences of 
race, culture, and fortune exist. The Cuban is 
naturally self-possessed. It is difficult to fancy 
him having stage fright. He is so imaginative 
and Tarasconese that he frequently confounds 
ideals with realities, and as his ideal of himself 
is usually an exalted one this disposition does 
not incline him to diffidence or humility. He is 
therefore apt to assume an artlessly familiar 
air with his employer, and to try to put their 
business relations, so far as their social aspect 
is concerned, as nearly upon a partnership 
basis as possible. With his manual services he 
bestows the gifts of his own discretion and 
judgment as gratuity, and he is thus enabled 
to amplify or modify any instructions he may 
receive to guide him in his work. These per- 
sonal advances and well intended departures 
from what are called orders, principally as a 



134 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
matter of courtesy in Cuba, are received quite 
differently by an American and Cuban em- 
ployer. The former resents them brusquely, 
often profanely, and thus sows the first seeds 
of misunderstanding that result in much con- 
cealed resentment and hostility, and unless he 
master the situation by great force of will and 
character, may occasion more serious damage 
to his interests. The Cuban or Spanish em- 
ployer, understanding his man, contrives to se- 
cure his ends more diplomatically; but he 
never has a really disciplined force of employes. 
Organization and discipline are two of the 
most seriously lacking things in Cuban life; 
and they are lacking because of a certain timid- 
ity, a lack of self-assertiveness on the part of 
the officers of industry toward their men. The 
Cuban is capable of discipline; but so long as 
nothing else is required, he naturally prefers 
discussing politics and local news or comparing 
notes about their children with his foreman to 
performing more commonplace duties. His 
friendliness toward his employer is usually 
well-meaning, even if unwisely manifested. It 
is something akin to the easy, inquisitive, but 
sympathetic familiarity one finds in a New 
England village. Occasionally it can be turned 



The Condition of Cuba 135 



to good account in securing the loyalty of the 
men. Two American retail merchants were in- 
terviewed in Habana. One was evidently re- 
served toward his working people. He re- 
ported that among several employed he had 
never had a Cuban he was not obliged to dis- 
charge for stealing. Another, who was con- 
ducting a larger business, and who had many 
Cubans in his employ, but who stood on terms 
of greater intimacy with them, reported that 
he had no difficulty whatever of this kind. 
Whether the difference in the experience of the 
two merchants was due to the reason suggested 
or not, it is certain that the Cuban is peculiarly 
susceptible to appeals to ideal motives, whether 
made directly or only by implication, and that 
success or failure in dealing with the workmen 
of the Island often hinges upon an understand- 
ing of this trait of character. 

One desirable outcome of the aspiration 
toward social equality on the part of Cubans 
is their aversion to tips. Employes, who had 
made some money sacrifice by leaving piece- 
work to act as guides about a factory, refused, 
evidently with considerable embarrassment, the 
offer of gratuity. A poor countryman who had 
left his field labor for several hours to show a 



136 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
trail through a tract of forest would only accept 
compensation under protest — and when it was 
turned into a gift for the children. These same 
men would have made as shrewd a bargain as 
possible and would have haggled for hours over 
centavos in a matter of trade, but for a service 
of courtesy money was no compensation for 
their sense of wounded dignity in accepting a 
gratuity. 

With reference to the personal honesty of 
the Cuban, no unqualified statement is likely 
to be just. All people possessing great love of 
approbation and an excessive desire to please 
are apt to be more or less insincere in social 
intercourse. Extend the ethics of an afternoon 
tea to all statements of fact in business rela- 
tions, and one has an atmosphere of reliability 
or the reverse about equivalent to that in Cuba. 
Men tell you things they think you will like to 
hear. It appears to strike a Cuban as some- 
thing akin to discourtesy to bring a painful 
fact to your attention, even though a knowledge 
of it be quite essential to your business welfare. 
To save himself the embarrassment of refusing 
a request, he will often make a promise that 
he can not keep, and to save you from being 
disquieted by uncertainty he will give you an 



The Condition of Cuba 137 

assurance as unqualified that ought to be de- 
cidedly conditional. His business statements 
are like his currency, subject to fluctuating dis- 
count. As in case of money, this is undoubt- 
edly an inconvenience in conducting a transac- 
tion. But, as there is sound money in Cuba, so 
there are men to be found whose word in busi- 
ness is as good as their bond. 

The upper commercial classes of the Island 
preserve a conservative integrity in their deal- 
ings and their methods of conducting business 
as high as prevails in any country. There are 
few failures. The representatives of large 
American houses report that their losses from 
bad debts are less in Cuba in proportion to the 
amount of business done than in the United 
States. In purchasing at retail one has to 
guard against overcharging. But this is sim- 
ply a feature of a very ancient and still very 
common way of doing business. There are no 
settled prices, and each individual sale is a 
separate transaction to be settled by independ- 
ent agreement, and is not prejudiced in the 
least by the precedent of previous transactions 
of a similar character. Americans, with little 
experience outside their own country, fre- 
quently bring up this practice as a main argu- 



138 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ment to prove the universal dishonesty of the 
Cuban. But it is like many other ingenuous 
arguments of the same sort — "It is not our 
way, ergo, it is wrong ' ' — that would result in 
making virtue a decidedly local thing in this 
world if they were universally applied. 

It is sometimes stated that while the Cuban, 
especially of the middle or lower class, is often 
lax about keeping his word, he shows quite the 
opposite disposition with regard to trifles be- 
longing to other persons. The experience of 
foreigners on the Island doubtless varies in this 
respect. It is hardly probable that the Cuban 
has abnormally high regard for the rights of 
property. But here is the result of a single 
personal experience covering nearly two years, 
and divided between Cuba and Porto Rico, 
where the general moral standards may be as- 
sumed to be about the same. Though the per- 
son in question travelled most of this time, 
stopping at boarding-houses and hotels, and a 
guest in native families where only native serv- 
ants were employed, though he allowed small 
articles of personal property to lie about un- 
cared for, with the same freedom as in the 
United States, and habitually left satchels and 
other hand-bags unlocked, during these two 



The Condition of Cuba 139 

years not a single thing was stolen. In Cuba 
umbrellas and unlocked baggage were fre- 
quently left unchecked in baggage and waiting 
rooms at railway stations, wharves, at ware- 
houses, and at hotel offices, and nothing was 
ever lost in this way. Articles accidentally left 
behind in travelling, or when making purchases, 
were returned when opportunity offered. At 
no time during the two years was any attempt 
made to pass bad money or incorrect change. 
He travelled sometimes all night over rough 
trails and in the remotest parts of the Island, 
with only native companions, with considerable 
sums of money upon his person and unarmed, 
and was never molested. 

Large contractors in Cuba report no unusual 
loss of tools through the peculations of their 
workingmen. The owners of retail stores, 
where there is such a multitude of petty sales 
that no record of such transactions can be kept, 
entrust practically their whole business to 
their clerks. Judging from actual experience 
with people and their way of doing business, 
there is nothing to indicate but that a fair de- 
gree of private and commercial honesty pre- 
vails. As a rule, the Cuban has not a passion 
for acquisition for its own sake. The question 



140 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

of money is an ever present and insistent one 
with the middle and working classes in Cuba 
as elsewhere; but when current demands are 
met, and they are not excessive, the Cuban is 
usually satisfied. He is not ambitious to ac- 
cumulate. Men in political life, with uncertain 
tenure of office, expensive ambitions, and the 
worst kind of precedents to influence them, are 
said not to be trustworthy, but Cuba should not 
be judged by its politicians. Considering only 
the industrial classes, there is no reason to re- 
proach Cuba with a particularly low standard 
of commercial and personal integrity. One will 
not find there conditions equalling those in 
countries where greater intelligence and social 
discipline have long prevailed, and where 
reasonably good government has been habitual ; 
but the moral standards of the people in the 
respects mentioned are not such as to present a 
serious bar to the industrial development of the 
country. 

One of the most common and perhaps the 
most popular charge made against Cuban work- 
men by Americans is that they are indolent. 
Disinclination to hard physical labor is a widely 
disseminated peculiarity of the human race. 
That is perhaps the reason why it is so confi- 



The Condition of Cuba 141 

dently brought up as a defect of one's neigh- 
bors. Foreign immigrants to the United States 
say that the American likes to do all the boss- 
ing and none of the hard work. German and 
Swiss peasants along the Ehine consider the 
Frenchman's great weakness his desire to have 
clean hands and fine clothes, and that the Ital- 
ian is a " lazy beggar." And the Italian bor- 
derer will assure you that the Germans and 
Swiss want to " eat and sleep all the time." 
Therefore, in forming a judgment about the 
working people in Cuba, one has to allow for 
this national equation. The climate of the 
Island does not encourage long-continued phys- 
ical labor apart from all question of race. The 
American, the Spaniard, the native, and the 
negro are all subjected to this influence. But a 
moderate amount of any kind of work can be 
done by any of these under the right conditions. 
The immigrant from the North brings with him 
a fund of physical stamina superior to that of 
the native, which runs for life and is not be- 
queathed to his successors born on the Island. 
No statement that can be made is less likely 
to be controverted than the oft repeated one 
that the Spaniard is superior to the Cuban, 
even of the first generation as a laborer. But 



142 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

the climate which withdraws physical vigor 
frequently compensates by giving mental alert- 
ness. The man of the second and third genera- 
tion on the Island is often quicker to compre- 
hend any complex matter than his Spanish an- 
cestor. This gives him a penchant toward the 
professions or the higher mechanic arts. It is 
not indolence so much as a combination of qual- 
ities of temperament that turns him away from 
manual occupations. He does not lack industry 
in his new career. 

This charge of indolence against the Cuban 
workman is sometimes justified by the slow- 
ness with which they perform their tasks. 
They are not nearly so expeditious as Amer- 
icans. But this is due in part to the system of 
industrial administration. The Cuban brick- 
layer lays as many bricks as the Englishman in 
the same trade. Recently in building the new 
Westinghouse electric plant at Manchester, 
American supervision raised the average num- 
ber of brick laid a day by the British bricklay- 
ers from less than 400 to 1,800, with a maxi- 
mum of 2,500 for the plainest work. This illus- 
trates how large a part organization and super- 
vision play in creating industrial efficiency. 
Employing the same men, the English con- 



The Condition of Cuba 143 

tractor got only about twenty per cent, as much 
work out of them as did the American superin- 
tendents. In Cuba a change to American 
methods and implements, and from oxen to 
mules as draft animals, has reduced the cost 
of plowing from $97.50 and $76.50 a caballeria 
(33 1-3 acres), in two specific instances, to 
$39.16 and $24 respectively. There is reason 
to believe that in all industries this factor of 
supervision and administration counts for as 
much in Cuba as it does elsewhere. If so, a 
large part of the relative inefficiency of the 
Cuban must be charged off to poor manage- 
ment and a wasteful industrial system. 

When regularly employed the Cuban works 
long hours. A chart of the street-railway traf- 
fic of Habana shows that during the shorter 
days of the year the registered number of pas- 
sengers carried per hour in the whole city is 
nearly one-half the maximum by 6 a. m., and 
that it reaches its maximum at just 6 p. m. 
Considering only those lines running into the 
city from suburbs occupied by the working 
classes, the traffic before 6 a. m. is nearly or 
quite two-thirds the maximum. For most of 
these men, therefore, twelve hours, with the 
noon rest deducted, is the usual term of daily 



144 Cu ba and Her People of To-day 

labor. On the plantations the eleven-hour day 
is still the rule. In riding through the country 
at earliest dawn one sees workers already in 
the fields. The independent country laborer 
usually protracts his noon-day rest until the 
heat of the day is over, and some of the appar- 
ent idleness of Cuba is due to the fact that the 
hours of work are divided by this interval of 
repose. 

In some trades the men work slowly or short 
hours in order to limit production. Where 
payment is by piece-work, as in the cigar fac- 
tories, they do so at their own expense. But 
this is usually during the slack season, and the 
motive is to keep as many men as possible em- 
ployed. 

One weakness of the working people of Cuba 
may be charged in part to indolence, but it is 
equally due to their love of pleasure and excite- 
ment, and to a feeling of irresponsibility as to 
the future so characteristic of tropical nations. 
Unless pressed by necessity, tjie Cuban takes 
frequent vacations. This is his form of dissi- 
pation, his way of going on a spree. The ex- 
citement of strong drink does not appeal to him 
as much as the gentler attractions of more pro- 
tracted recreations. He is often a gambler, he 



The Condition of Cuba 145 

delights in music and dances and in the little 
festivals of his neighborhood ; he regards scru- 
pulously all the observances of the Church that 
give promises of sufficient entertainment, espe- 
cially those of a gala-day character. Weddings 
and christenings and funerals are important 
events in his calendar. By dint of a close and 
constant study of the situation he can usually 
find a valid excuse for indulging in the relaxa- 
tions of leisure whenever it is not absolutely 
necessary for him to labor for his support. 

The Cuban is therefore neither thrifty nor 
frugal. As a workman he responds only to the 
incentive of necessity. The Spanish laborer in 
Cuba usually works with the aim of accumula- 
ting a competency ; not so the Cuban. The one 
produces and consumes little; the other pro- 
duces only what he may consume. The Span- 
ish laborer has few and simple ideals, but they 
are fixed and permanent; the Cuban stores a 
new fancy in his head every few days, and for- 
gets it. He becomes impassioned over a carni- 
val mask or a polka-dot tie; a month later it 
has passed out of his remembrance. 

This is one principal reason why employers 
so greatly prefer the Spaniards in their serv- 
ice ; they are not necessarily more honest, more 



146 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

active, or more intelligent, but they can be de- 
pended upon. 

The Cubans are not criminally inclined. 
Under Spanish rule there were four times as 
many Spaniards as native whites in the pris- 
ons of Cuba in proportion to the total number 
of inhabitants of each nation in the Island. The 
Chinese and Spaniards both showed a larger 
percentage of criminals than the native Cubans 
of either race. Among the higher class Cubans, 
especially in the remoter towns, there are many 
evidences of physical degeneracy due to close 
intermarriage. Little scrawny men with big 
bony hands and almost no head at all, are char- 
acteristic of this class. But this type is not 
usually found among the rural or laboring 
population. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FUTURE OP CUBA 

If the economic development of Cuba holds 
little promise for the people of the country, 
they have even less to look for in the political 
prospect. The period of self-government fol- 
lowing freedom from the Spanish yoke has been 
marked by utter failure to meet the demands 
and the responsibilities of the situation. The 
Palma administration, ushered in with the high- 
est hopes and the utmost encouragement, was 
tainted with corruption and cut short by revo- 
lution. The present regime can not boast even 
that weak element of honesty and ability that 
its predecessor possessed. To quote La Lucha, 
of Habana, which was the official organ of the 
Gomez party, the present condition is charac- 
terized by " intranquillity in the country, un- 
easiness in the towns and cities, hatreds, fears, 
and absolute lack of confidence in the future. 
. . . Our rulers refuse to be convinced that they 

147 



148 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
are not the owners, but simply the administra- 
tors of the public wealth." Insurrection has 
been staved off on several occasions by means 
of the strong arm or the greased palm. As the 
year 1911 approaches its close, the rumblings 
of revolution are heard in many different parts 
of the Island at the same time. These are not 
to be taken as popular indications of resent- 
ment against bad government, — the Cubans 
are used to that. They are the organized prep- 
arations of the " outs " to unseat the " ins." 
Such disturbances are natural incidents of a 
situation which is controlled by professional 
politicians. There are in Cuba no political 
parties based on principle. Instead there are a 
number of cliques, each headed by a leader who 
holds his followers by promises of patronage in 
case of success. Experience has taught that 
the bullet is more effective than the ballot in 
Cuban politics. A few shots fired at the moon 
displaced the Palma government. To quote 
again from La Lucha: ll In Cuba nothing can 
resist the slightest armed movement, because 
the first subversive cry raised in our fields is, 
and ever will be, the death knell of our political 
state." The Administration can not place de- 
pendence upon the military forces. The keen- 



The Future of Cuba 149 

est rivalry and the bitterest feeling exist be- 
tween the rural guard and the regular army. 
In case of a civil war, these bodies would surely 
take opposite sides, and neither has any senti- 
ment of loyalty to the flag, or allegiance to the 
government. The chief influence to which they 
would be amenable is the will of their respect- 
ive commanders, who are politicians and aim to 
employ the forces under them as political in- 
struments. The most effective defence of the 
President is found in placating his enemies by 
substantial concessions, but this method has 
naturally created fresh opponents with an ap- 
petite for sops, and the Chief Executive finds 
himself well-nigh at the end of his resources. 

A country may be greatly prosperous and the 
mass of its people be miserable in the extreme. 
Mexico is an example in point. Cuba is an- 
other. 

Throughout the hardships and hazards of the 
war of independence the insurrectos were sup- 
ported by the belief that American enlistment 
in their cause, upon which they counted for 
success, would be followed by an era of perma- 
nent prosperity for the masses. The man who 
bore the brunt of the fighting, buoyed by these 
high hopes, realizes now that he was exploited 



150 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

by a handful of his own countrymen and de- 
serted by his expected saviour. The desertion 
was repeated after the need for protection had 
been emphasized and the exploitation continues 
in an aggravated form. 

On the guajiro falls most heavily the burden 
of supporting the most expensive and extrava- 
gant government in the world. This because 
that government dare not bear too hardly with 
taxation upon the great corporations and 
wealthy property owners. An important part 
of the game of finesse which is necessary to the 
life of any administration in Cuba consists in 
keeping in the good graces of the money inter- 
ests, for it is in the power of these to stop the 
fat grazing in the political pastures by forcing 
American reoccupation, and even perhaps an- 
nexation. 

So we have one of the most striking of the 
many anomalies in the Cuban system of admin- 
istration, — the customs duties. Here, in a 
country with no industries to protect, the tariff 
exaction is at the rate of $12 per head. In the 
United States it is no more than $3.50, while in 
other countries it is considerably less. At first 
hand the importer pays this tax, but, of course, 
it ultimately falls upon the consumer. And, as 



The Future of Cuba 151 

more than half the importations of the Island 
are foodstuffs or articles of clothing, it neces- 
sarily follows that the masses discharge the 
great bulk of the customs duties. At the same 
time large tracts of land that are held by their 
"wealthy owners at high figures are exempted 
from taxation entirely. 

Is it any wonder that the peasant groans 
under the load? It is true that he works in- 
termittently and loafs unnecessarily, but that 
is no good reason why his last dollar should be 
squeezed out of him, and, if he earned more, he 
would probably invite heavier taxation. He 
has no encouragement to exert himself beyond 
the needs of the present hour. He is probably 
occupying land that he may be required to va- 
cate to-morrow. He can find no better market 
for his produce than the precarious one of the 
adjacent village. Enterprise is an invitation to 
the spoilers of the capital and the petty officials 
of his locality. If you should ask his candid 
opinion, it would be that conditions are no bet- 
ter than they were under Spain, and perhaps 
not quite as good. You may attempt to relieve 
his depression by a reminder of his splendid 
independence. He will not understand what 
you are talking about, although he is far from 



152 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

being a dullard. He fought in the wars of in- 
dependence because he was assured that suc- 
cess would mean a full stomach and perchance 
the ownership of a scrap of land. It resulted 
in neither and, unless restrained by scepticism, 
he would fight again, under any banner, for the 
same promise. Independence per se is of no 
more value to him than a cocoanut husk. He 
can not eat it and it will not buy calico for his 
woman. 

The only class of Cubans that is waxing fat 
and living in contentment is that composed of 
the office-holders, — the professional politi- 
cians. They toil not, but they reap with pro- 
digious assiduity. They fill easy jobs on ex- 
travagant salaries and try to persuade the 
country that they are performing extremely 
difficult and important tasks. Their sole inter- 
est and concern is to fill their pockets with as 
little exertion as need be. The welfare of the 
people is a matter of no consideration to them. 
The only fly in their ointment is the fact that 
they can not all be in office at the same time, 
and so the " ins " are disturbed by the uncom- 
fortable knowledge that the " outs " are con- 
stantly scheming to oust them. 

The peasant has entirely lost whatever faith 



The Future of Cuba 153 

lie may have had in the politician. The man 
who pulled the chestnuts out of the fire is grow- 
ing impatient of supporting a lot of unneces- 
sary office-holders. The peasant is supine to 
a shameful degree, but there is a limit to his 
forbearance, and it has almost been reached. 
He is ripe to serve the purposes of any agita- 
tors — any one who will offer a fair prospect of 
changed conditions. 

But, be it well understood, this unrest and 
dissatisfaction are the outcome of basic causes. 
They can only be remedied by radical reforma- 
tion of the economic and political state of the 
country. And such reformation is not to be 
expected from any native source. Cuba's sal- 
vation depends upon guidance and aid from 
without, or, if not that, from the foreign ele- 
ment within her borders. This fact has become 
so obvious that even the organs of the politi- 
cians admit it. All classes, save the numeric- 
ally smallest, are weary and disgusted with 
the condition of things. They can find no rem- 
edy at the polls. If the present administration 
is ejected, it is sure to be followed by another 
as bad, or worse. 

When it comes to a consideration of the best 
means to relieve Cuba's distress, the factors 



154 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

in the matter are found to be so complex, and 
the opinions on the subject so diverse, that it is 
extremely difficult to arrive at any definite con- 
clusion. One point, at least, almost all students 
of the situation are agreed upon, and that is 
that the United States fell very short of afford- 
ing the Cubans the assistance in rehabilitating 
themselves that they had a right to expect, and 
that the hasty manner in which they were left 
to their own resources is mainly responsible for 
the confusion that has existed ever since. 

If the Cuban has not an actual ineptitude for 
exercising the functions of government, he 
must be disqualified by utter inexperience. The 
brief period of autonomy is hardly worth con- 
sidering in this respect. Before the present 
century only a very small proportion of the 
population had ever exercised the elementary 
political function of voting. Under Spain the 
affairs of the country were regulated to the 
smallest detail by the national authority, which 
extended its paternal supervision to matters 
affecting the private life of the individual. For 
instance, regulations for the conduct of the bull- 
ring and the cock-pit emanated from the cap- 
tain-general, and under his instructions the 
petty officers were constituted censors of the 



The Future of Cuba 155 



morals of private citizens, with power to punish 
offenders. 

Another equally serious disqualification is to 
be found in the large proportion of illiterates 
in Cuba. These comprise more than half the 
total population. The great majority of them 
are campesinos, rustics. Nevertheless, it is to 
the country districts that we must look for the 
best thought and the greatest influence in fu- 
ture political movements. City dwellers are 
prone to act and think in mass, to be led by the 
crowd and to be unduly influenced by the 
press. The guajiro, who owns a little patch of 
ground, but is utterly lacking in education, is 
a safer and more valuable political unit than 
the average citizen of Habana. 

Order was established and a workable form 
of government framed in Cuba by the United 
States, but its action in leaving this machinery 
entirely under the control of an inexperienced 
and immature people was like placing a razor 
in the hands of a child. The needs of the Island 
were sacrificed to the political exigencies of its 
protector. This is a fact that will hardly ad- 
mit of dispute. The leading Cuban papers and 
the most representative citizens of the country 
declared unequivocally that the people were not 



156 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
prepared nor qualified to assume the responsi- 
bility of self-government. Governor Magoon, 
in a report which was suppressed, made similar 
representations to his superiors in Washington. 
Nevertheless, thirteen months after the trans- 
fer of the Island from Spain to the United 
States, President Roosevelt ordered that with- 
drawal should take place one year later and 
" under no circumstances and for no reason " 
should our occupancy be extended beyond the 
date set, which happened to be just before the 
assembling of the presidential conventions. 
We committed our first injustice to the country 
and made our first mistake in the treatment of 
it by that hasty and premature abandonment. 
We have already paid a heavy price for the 
blunder and Cuba has suffered severely from 
the effects of it. But our responsibility still 
exists and the task remains to be performed. 
There is no possibility of avoidance. Sooner 
or later we must take the work of Cuba's re- 
generation in hand seriously and carry it out 
thoroughly. How this shall be done is difficult 
of conjecture. 

A small number of men in this country, 
whose opinions on any subject command re- 
spect, believe that the best course will be found 



The Future of Cuba 157 

in leaving Cuba to work out her own difficulties 
without interference. The advocates of this 
laissez faire policy point to Mexico, the Argen- 
tine, and other Latin-American republics as 
shining examples of peoples who have inde- 
pendently worked out similar problems and 
have brought their countries through long 
periods of misery and disturbance to peaceful 
prosperity. But there are two strong objec- 
tions to this policy. In the first place, the 
United States is pledged to the Cubans and the 
world at large to maintain order in the Island. 
No one who is familiar with conditions can be- 
lieve that the Cubans are capable of carrying 
on a government for a period of five years with- 
out revolutionary eruptions. Is it conceivable 
that the people of the United States would al- 
low their government to step in periodically to 
suppress disturbances and to step out promptly 
as soon as peace should be restored? It is safe 
to say, that the next occupation of Cuba by the 
United States, which can not be delayed many 
years, will last for a considerably longer period 
than did either of the preceding occupations. 
Then again, the situation in Cuba contains a 
very important element which destroys the ap- 
plicability to it of the examples cited. During 



158 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

their formative stages Mexico, Argentina, and 
the other Latin-American countries contem- 
plated were undeveloped and comparatively 
little foreign capital was invested in them. 
Cuba, on the contrary, is the scene of an ad- 
vanced economic development. Almost the en- 
tire country belongs to aliens, who have billions 
of their money sunk in it. Is it at all probable 
that these persons and corporations would sub- 
mit to the loss or deterioration of their prop- 
erty that would assuredly be involved in an in- 
dependent government of Cuba by the Cubans ? 
The monied interests form at present the most 
determined of the classes that look for a radical 
change in conditions. They know that trouble 
is constantly in the air and may take definite 
form at any moment. 

What is the prospect of the Cubans working 
out an orderly and efficient government un- 
aided? Up to the present, notwithstanding 
ample opportunity, there is not even the nu- 
cleus of a stable and rational political party in 
the country. The best men stand aloof, or find 
themselves hopelessly excluded from participa- 
tion in public affairs. They complain, but their 
plaints are vague and indeterminate. All 
classes of Cubans, but one, are clamoring for a 



The Future of Cuba 159 

change, but no class has put its hopes and 
wishes into definite utterance. The press is 
hardly more explicit in its demands and denun- 
ciations. The following quotation from the 
Union Espanola, of Habana, affords a typical 
illustration : 

" Political anarchy, by which the country is 
at present confronted, is daily growing greater. 
It would seem as though all the political ele- 
ments had made an agreement to perturb, or 
rather to dissolve, the nation, for the tendency 
on all sides is to dissolution. It is time the true 
patriots sounded the alarm, and that politicians 
pause in their work of destruction, curbing bits, 
that the Cuban people may continue the minis- 
tering of its destinies and in the possession of 
self-government. It would be shameful, worse 
than shameful, criminal, that Cubans, drunk 
with sordid ambition and in petty strife for 
self-aggrandisement, should again wreck the 
republic, turning over this island to the covet- 
ous stranger to exploit it and lord over it." 

It is hardly possible to avoid the conviction 
that Cuba's ultimate fate will be annexation to 
the United States, or some very similar state. 
The United States has on five different occa- 
sions emphatically and distinctly declared its 



160 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

intention to preserve the independence of Cuba. 
These formal and public announcements would 
make it difficult for any administration to coun- 
tenance, and much more to take the initiative 
in, any movement tending to annexation. But 
several contingencies are conceivable which 
might make it possible for the United States to 
take Cuba into the federation with a good 
grace. 

The result may be brought about by one of 
several causes, or by combination of them. 

It is highly probable that abuse of political 
power, or revolution, will make American inter- 
vention again necessary before long. If the 
next occupation is not permanent, the one suc- 
ceeding it is likely to be so. The people of 
America will tire of the trouble and expense of 
periodical correction of conditions in Cuba. 

The property owning class in Cuba, native as 
well as foreign, is almost unanimously in favor 
of the annexation of the Island to the United 
States, and a majority of the resident Span- 
iards entertain the same sentiment. If this 
class should unite in action it would be irre- 
sistible. Should it form a political party, with 
annexation as its chief platform, it could over- 
come the professional politicians and control. 



The Future of Cuba 161 

Congress. A majority of the peasantry would 
undoubtedly support such a party. The Island 
might thus pass in a legal manner by vote of 
the people. 

The same result might be brought about by 
the monied interests deciding to buy the Con- 
gressional vote without going to the trouble 
and expense of creating a genuine majority in 
the Legislature. 

If none of the suggested contingencies should 
come about, it is highly probable that Cuba will 
eventually come into the Union by a process 
somewhat similar to that which brought Hawaii 
under the flag. American interests and Amer- 
ican citizens are constantly increasing in the 
Island. It is not difficult to imagine a coup 
d'etat, resulting in a government in the hands 
of Americans. 

If the desire of a majority of the Cubans 
were all that was necessary to bring about an- 
nexation, the matter might be accomplished 
without serious difficulty. There are, however, 
many obstacles in the way when the question is 
viewed from the standpoint of the other party 
to the transaction. The United States would 
derive important advantages from the pos- 
session of Cuba, but in several respects the 



162 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

American people would suffer by the arrange- 
ment. 

At the outset a difficulty would arise as to 
the terms of admission. The most enthusiastic 
advocates of annexation among intelligent 
Cubans would not be willing to come under the 
American flag with anything less than the 
status and rights of a state. This attitude is 
easy to appreciate. Cuba's population, wealth, 
resources, commerce, industries, and strategic 
position would fully justify her aspirations to 
the highest rank among America's possessions. 
She would not be content with a territorial 
position, and the proposition, which has been 
advanced, that she should accept the indefinite 
status of Puerto Eico and the Philippines, is 
not worth a moment's consideration. 

Despite official figures to the contrary, it is 
the conviction of many who have had the best 
possible opportunities for judging, that a large 
majority of the native population of Cuba have 
negro blood in their veins. Practically one 
hundred per cent, of the people profess the 
Roman Catholic faith and Spanish is the 
mother tongue of the same proportion. "Would 
the American nation agree to the construction 
of a sister state out of such material? 



The Future of Cuba 163 

The admission to the United States of Cuba's 
products free of duty would constitute a seri- 
ous menace to Louisiana's chief industry and 
to the growing beet sugar industry of our 
northwestern territory. The fruit growers of 
California and Florida would suffer from com- 
petition with products raised by cheaper labor, 
and to a less extent the tobacco growers of Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky would feel the same pres- 
sure. 

As to the advantages that Cuba would enjoy 
from annexation, there can be no question. 
The most obvious and pronounced would be the 
assurance of good government, perpetual peace 
within her borders, an incalculably better ad- 
ministration than the present at one-third of 
its cost, free trade with the United States, and 
a market there for all her products and pur- 
chases. 

Perhaps Cuba might approximate closely to 
the enjoyment of these benefits under an ar- 
rangement which could be effected with much 
less difficulty than annexation. A permanent 
protectorate, if introduced with the usual meth- 
ods of soothing and placating the protected, 
would probably solve Cuba's difficulties more 
effectually than any other plan at present prac- 



164 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ticable. Out of such a state, Cuba might at 
some future date become a member of the 
Union by a gradual process of evolution. There 
is, of course, the objection to such an arrange- 
ment that it would impair the independence 
which we have promised to maintain, but when 
both parties to an agreement are willing to 
waive its terms there should be no obstruction 
to cancelling it. Furthermore, if such a pro- 
tectorate should be established it will no doubt 
grow out of a presumptively temporary occu- 
pation. The process would be something like 
that which has resulted in England's estab- 
lished control over Egypt. When the British 
occupation of that country occurred the admin- 
istration under Gladstone declared positively 
that Great Britain would retire as soon as her 
work should be done. She has now, however, 
no thought of ever doing so. Her control of 
the country is undoubtedly a great benefit to 
the people, and the world at large would regret 
her relinquishment of it. Our Government is 
acting in a similar manner in its treatment of 
the Filipinos. No statesman in the country 
now contemplates the independence of those 
people as within the bounds of probability. 
Under a protectorate it would be possible for 



The Future of Cuba 165 

the United States to insure to the Cubans a 
considerable measure of the benefits that would 
accrue to them from annexation, without entail- 
ing upon this country the disadvantages which 
would follow the latter measure. 



CHAPTER IX 

CUBA'S SUGAK INDUSTRY 

The one and a half billion inhabitants of the 
earth consume 32,000,000,000 pounds of sugar 
yearly. The distribution of this enormous 
quantity is, however, far from even, some coun- 
tries accounting for next to none of it, while 
in several others the average consumption 
exceeds fifty pounds for every inhabitant. 
Strangely enough, some of the oldest peoples, 
to whom the knowledge of manufactured sugar 
is a matter of immemorial possession, are only 
now beginning to develop a sweet tooth. This 
may be said of the Chinese and the various 
races of the Philippine Archipelago. 

The rapid growth in the world's population 
naturally accounts for a constant increase in 
consumption, but it is also greatly enhanced by 
the increase in individual use. In the United 
States, for example, the per capita consump- 
tion has risen eight pounds in the past few 

166 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 167 



years. We now dispose of eighty pounds of 
sugar annually for every soul in our popula- 
tion, while twenty years ago the average was 
little more than fifty pounds. This consump- 
tion takes no account of the large quantity of 
confections, especially chocolate, imported into 
the country in a manufactured condition. Only 
in Great Britain are the figures higher than 
with us. There they rise to one hundred 
pounds. Denmark comes next with seventy- 
five pounds, then Switzerland, with sixty. 
Thrifty Germany, which produces the largest 
beet crop in the world, and in fact controls 
the world's sugar market, uses very little of 
the commodity itself. Its per capita consump- 
tion is only forty-two pounds, being about the 
same as that of Holland. Italy, Rumania, Bul- 
garia, and Servia, each consumes less than ten 
pounds of sugar per head of its population, the 
poverty of their peoples doubtless accounting 
in the main for the small figures. 

Sugar in some form has been used by the 
inhabitants of the globe from the earliest times. 
Until the fifteenth century before Christ, the 
chief source of supply was honey. It was at 
about that time that the value of cultivating 
the wild sugar cane was discovered in India, 



168 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

and it is probable that the first manufacture of 
sugar in any manner should be credited to that 
country. For many centuries, only the raw 
juice was expressed, until about 700 b. c. the 
employment of fire in concentrating it came 
into use. From India the art spread rapidly 
among the ancient nations, but did not reach 
Western Europe until several centuries later. 
Columbus carried sugar cane from the Canary 
Islands to the West Indies, whence it extended 
to the mainland, and thus, in a progress of 
three thousand years, encircled the earth. 

The production of sugar in the New World 
became so great within a century after its 
introduction, that the importers of Europe 
turned to it for the supply which they had 
formerly received from the Orient. Spain, 
Italy, and Egypt, large producers of sugar at 
that time, could not meet the competition with 
the American output, and soon ceased to culti- 
vate cane commercially. Free land and slave 
labor enabled the planters of the West Indies 
to sell sugar at lower figures, with larger profit, 
than could the growers of any other part of the 
world. 

To-day sugar is produced under the most 
diversified conditions and in the most scattered 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 169 

regions. In many countries, such as India, Ma- 
laysia, and the Philippines, cane is raised and 
sugar manufactured by the crudest processes, 
with the cheapest labor. The product is low 
grade and the extraction small. In other coun- 
tries, such as Hawaii and Cuba, the most im- 
proved methods are employed, and skilled 
labor engaged at high wages. 

The competition between cane-producing 
countries is so great that a moderate advantage 
gained by one will sometimes destroy the in- 
dustry of another. Such was the case when 
our reciprocal tariff arrangement with Cuba 
resulted in closing the mills of Jamaica. In 
recent years the keenest rivalry has existed 
between cane and beet sugar. At first the lat- 
ter had great difficulty in forcing a place for 
itself in the world's markets, but with govern- 
ment subsidies, improvement in cultivation, 
and economies in manufacture, it gradually 
became an irresistible competitor of cane. Dur- 
ing the past fifteen years beet sugar has come 
to the front with great strides, and now it di- 
vides the world's consumption with the cane 
product. 

Cuba produces considerably more than one- 
fourth of the entire cane sugar of the world, 



170 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

devoting two million acres to the crop. More 
than four-fifths of this area is in the provinces 
of Santa Clara, Matanzas and Oriente. The 
Island's output in recent years has been about 
11,500,000 tons a year, yielding somewhat more 
than 1,000,000 tons of refined sugar. Enor- 
mous as is this production, it falls far short of 
the quantity that could be produced if larger 
areas of the available suitable land were put 
under cultivation and if such scientific and in- 
tensive methods as prevail in some other coun- 
tries were employed. 

Sugar cane was probably first grown in Cuba 
some time about the middle of the sixteenth 
century, under the encouragement of a royal 
bounty. The industry made but slow progress 
during the next two and a half centuries. In 
1850, the sugar production of the Island had 
reached approximately 300,000 tons. Since 
then it has steadily increased, the million mark 
having been attained in 1894. During the lat- 
ter half of the nineteenth century a tendency to 
centralization set in. Previous to that period 
the crop had been raised on a large number of 
small plantations, each working entirely in- 
dependently. In 1880 began the movement 
toward the establishment of " centrals " for 



Cuba's Sugar Industry m 

the performance of the extractive operations. 
There are now nearly two hundred of these 
buildings in the Island. At the same time the 
combination of small plantations resulted in a 
decrease in numbers with an increase in aver- 
age size. 

The million ton mark gained in 1894 was 
upheld in the following year, but in 1896 the 
war was in full blast, and the year's output 
was barely more than 225,000 tons. 

During the last war of independence the 
sugar plantations throughout Cuba were either 
utterly ruined, or severely damaged. Since the 
war, the industry has been resuscitated by the 
investment of vast amounts of money, the erec- 
tion of modern buildings, and the installation 
of the latest types of machinery. As a con- 
siderable proportion of this investment was 
American money, American methods have been 
extensively introduced. The result of all this 
is a complete reformation of the industry in all 
its branches. There is, nevertheless, room for 
further improvement, especially in the field. A 
better quality of cane might be secured by in- 
telligent selection, and the invention of a har- 
vester would result in a great economy. 

The latter-day sugar plantation is a very 



172 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
extensive establishment and costs from five 
hundred thousand dollars to several millions. 
One of the largest and most complete in Cuba 
is that called the Central Preston, belonging to 
the Nipe Bay Company, and situated on Nipe 
Bay. The factory, according to the latest 
method, is erected close to the wharves at 
Punta Tabaco. Thence the cane lands extend 
inland and along the shore for twenty-five 
miles. 

The present grinding capacity of three thou- 
sand eight hundred tons of cane a day is 
shortly to be increased to five thousand tons, 
when the factory will be the largest in the 
world. 

The main building, entirely of steel construc- 
tion, has a frontage of 312 feet and a depth of 
234 feet on one side and 330 feet on the other. 
Separate buildings are devoted to carpenter 
shops, machine shops, foundry, refrigerating 
and ice plants. 

Besides the usual full equipment of pumps, 
juice heaters, clarifiers, filter presses, etc., the 
factory installation includes ten 600 horse- 
power vertical water tube boilers with bagasse 
burning furnaces, automatically fed by bagasse 
carriers and the latest improved type of fur- 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 173 

nace feeders ; two tandems of 36 inch x 84 inch 
nine-roll mills, with crushers, each tandem of 
mills being driven by one 32 inch x 60 inch Cor- 
liss engine and each crusher by one 20 inch x 
42 inch Corliss engine. Two Lillie Quadruple 
Effects, each of a capacity to evaporate 600,000 
gallons, reversible both as to vapor and liquor. 
Four 14 inch steel vacuum pans, each equipped 
with its own vacuum pump and condenser. 
For the injection water, three-stage direct con- 
nected centrifugal pumps are used, one of 
which is a reserve, throwing 3,500 gallons of 
water per minute. Twenty-two crystallizers, 
with an aggregate capacity of 37,400 cubic feet ; 
thirty 40 inch Weston centrifugal machines 
and the most improved installation of convey- 
ors, and other auxiliary and automatic machin- 
ery of practical design for the handling of the 
finished product. Three molasses storage 
tanks, of 425,000 gallons capacity each, accom- 
modate the final molasses thrown off by the 
factory. These are situated near the wharf, 
and from them shipment in bulk is made di- 
rectly into deep draught tank steamers. 

The company's railroad is thirty-five miles 
in length, of standard gauge, laid in 60-pound 
rails, and furnished with cars completely made 



174 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

of steel and having each a capacity of twenty 
tons. 

When it is considered that the entire tonnage 
of many thousand acres must be transported 
within a certain period to a central point, and 
that the supply of cane to the factory must be 
equal and continuous to avoid the losses that 
result from retardation or stoppage of the mill, 
the great importance of the transportation sys- 
tem on a plantation may be appreciated. 

The modern method of the large central with 
its immense sphere of influence, necessitates 
that the railroad be thoroughly equipped and 
efficiently managed. The old practice of carry- 
ing the cane from field to factory in an ox cart 
has passed into disuse along with the small 
mill, and has been superseded by the present 
railroad, with standard gauge roadbeds, heavy 
rails, steel cars, powerful locomotives, and 
schedule running, the whole being under the 
direction of a practical railroad man, as train 
despatcher. Although the standard gauge is 
often used, the narrow gauge is generally em- 
ployed. On estates which are a considerable 
distance from any trunk line or public road, the 
latter is preferable on account of the lower cost 
with correspondingly smaller car capacity; 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 175 

while on large estates, where the cars have a 
capacity of twenty tons or over, it is necessary 
to lay the standard gauge road for the greater 
efficiency and smaller cost of maintenance. 

Opinions vary as to the most convenient and 
economical size of car to be used on small and 
large plantations. It is, however, beginning to 
be generally admitted that the larger the car, 
having in mind the weight of the rail, the better 
the results. Experienced constructors are now 
recommending a steel frame car, mounted on 
strong trucks, with automatic couplers and air 
brake attachments. A steel car has been found 
by carefully observed experience to have a 
longer life than a wooden one, since it is in the 
field the year round, and if it is well painted 
the deterioration is much less than with the 
other style. 

Recently, plantation operators have learned 
that it is a mistake to use light locomotives 
with heavy loads. The result is an abnormal 
deterioration, while when a locomotive of suffi- 
cient power and weight is used, less trouble is 
experienced in hauling the train and the wear 
and tear is minimized. Up-to-date plantations 
are furnished with an adequate round-house, 
where the engines can be under the eye of an 



176 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

experienced mechanic, and where repairs can 
conveniently be made. 

Closely connected with the railroad is the 
telephone system, which is of great service to 
the train despatcher, in many instances avoid- 
ing serious delays at the mill. The telephone 
is also, of course, in constant use by all 
branches of the operation. 

The method of discharging cane from the 
cars is very different from the old slow process, 
which was akin to that of unloading a hay 
wagon with pitchforks. Nowadays an electric 
overhead travelling crane lifts the cane from 
the car, weighs it automatically in suspension, 
and then drops it into the cane hopper and 
elevator. 

The tendency of late years has been towards 
the construction of large centrals, either by 
the consolidation of a number of the smaller 
and older ones, or by the erection of new sugar 
houses, thus effecting vast economies in field 
transportation and factory labor, and bringing 
the cost of maintenance and manufacture to a 
minimum. 

Large centrals necessarily employ a large 
number of laborers during the crop season, as 
well as in the dead season, and in order to make 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 177 

them contented and break their former habit 
of moving from one locality to another at the 
prompting of a whim, it has been found advan- 
tageous to provide them with comfortable 
homes and sanitary surroundings. This latter- 
day development is well exemplified in the vil- 
lage of Preston, attached to the plantation 
under consideration. The streets are wide and 
regular, and each is lined with model dwelling- 
houses. The sanitary arrangements are in 
charge of a specially organized corps of expe- 
rienced men. A large and well-equipped school 
is maintained ; there are two churches of dif- 
ferent denominations, besides a well-stocked 
store, where goods are sold at cost. The com- 
pany operates a modern hotel in the village, 
where meals are dispensed at small cost to 
those who prefer not to cook in their houses. 

As each succeeding generation receives edu- 
cational advantages, it follows that there is a 
constantly increasing desire to live on a better 
plane and under improved conditions. There- 
fore the provision of proper accommodations 
becomes an economic necessity upon large cen- 
trals, where the supply of labor must be de- 
pendable, and can be best made so by encour- 
aging it to become permanently resident. This 



178 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

system will go a long way toward tending to 
solve the labor problem for large corporations, 
and deserves the serious attention of all em- 
ployers of labor in considerable numbers. 

The present method of sugar production dis- 
tinctly separates the operations of cane grow- 
ing and sugar manufacture. The latter in- 
volves by far the greater expense and yields 
proportionally greater profit. Much the 
greater proportion of the skill called into play 
by the industry is also applied to the factory 
operations. It is still the case that some large 
estates control and work entire plantations, but 
there are more centrals that have nothing to do 
with the cane until it is cut and delivered to 
their cars. In such cases, a number of plan- 
tations, large and small, the average size being 
about 1500 acres, lie in the vicinity of the cen- 
tral and furnish its material under contract. 
The usual arrangement is to give the cane 
planter five per cent, of the sugar produced 
from his supply. 

The workings, costs, and returns, of a mod- 
erate-sized mill are shown in the following 
statement which was recently formulated by a 
thoroughly practical and experienced sugar 
manufacturer of Cuba. 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 



179 



A mill designed to handle 100,000 bags of 
sugar in a crop season will require about 
$1,000,000 investment, including $150,000 for 
running expenses. The area of cane necessary 
to supply such a mill is 6,000 acres. This, if 
owned and worked by the mill, would call for 
an additional $500,000 investment. As has 
been said, however, the tendency is to secure 
the supply from independent growers, under 
contract, in the same way as the beet- sugar 
mills of our western country deal with the 
neighboring farmers. In this case, the planters 
receive five per cent, of the cane in sugar, or its 
equivalent in money. Sugar cane in Cuba con- 
tains from ten to twelve per cent, of sugar, of 
which the mill retains five or seven per cent. 
Plantation and mill management are generally 
separated, in few cases combined. 



Price of sugar at mill per 325-pound bag 


$10.27 


Railroad freight 


.56 


Wharf expense 


.025 


Ocean freight 


.39 


Landing " 


.055 


Duty per pound 1.36 cents " 


4.42 


Expense per bag 


$15.72 



The calculation of returns is based on the 
very conservative rates of ten per cent, extrac- 
tion and a price of 2.75 cents per pound. The 



180 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



price of sugar is subject to great and frequent 
fluctuations, but there are mills in Cuba that 
produce a twelve per cent, average constantly. 
The 6,000 acres (180 caballerias) presup- 
posed will produce 325,000,000 pounds of cane, 
and from this will be extracted 32,500,000 
pounds of sugar, or the equivalent of 100,000 
bags of 325 pounds each. 

32,500,000 pounds of sugar at 2.75 cents $893,750 

Due the planters, 5% of total 446,875 

CHARGEABLE TO THE PLANTERS 

Expenses per year about $110,000 

5% interest on $500,000 25,000 

Cutting and hauling 185,000 

Loss on transportation, etc. 6,375 

Profit for plantation 120,000 

$446,375 

CHARGEABLE TO MILL 

20% expense of yield $180,000 

5% interest on $1,000,000 50,000 

Net profit 216,875 

$446,875 

The beet-sugar competition of late years, 
and particularly that of the German product 
which is supported by a bounty, has had a very 
depressing effect upon the Cuban industry. 
This was considerably relieved by the counter- 
vailing duty placed upon bounty sugar by the 
Dingley Bill of 1894. The effect of this was 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 181 

to place the latter products on exactly the same 
footing, so far as the United States market is 
concerned, as though they did not enjoy the 
advantage of a bounty. The competition is still 
severe, however, on account of the vast quan- 
tity of Germany's production and the lower 
cost of it. This is due, not to cheaper labor, 
but to more scientific and intensive methods. 
In fact, the future value of Cuban sugar is 
dependent not upon the cost of producing it so 
much, as upon the cost of production in Ger- 
many, and the extent to which the commodity 
may be admitted duty free into the United 
States from Hawaii, the Philippines and 
Puerto Eico. 

On this subject, Mr. E. F. Atkins is quoted 
as follows in Industrial Cuba: 

li With new capital and skill the average cost 
of production in Cuba can be reduced, and with 
either free sugars or a uniform rate of duty 
in the United States, assessed upon all sugar 
(a countervailing duty to offset foreign boun- 
ties being always maintained), she can hold her 
own and recover her prestige as a sugar-pro- 
ducing country, but the margin of profit in 
sugar manufacture is so small, and the world's 
capacity for production so great, that Cuba 



182 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

cannot recover her prosperity in the face of 
any advantage to be given to sugars from other 
countries entering the United States. At cur- 
rent prices in Cuba, cane is worth to the 
planter the equivalent of $2 to $2.50 per ton 
net, out of which price he must pay for his 
planting and cultivation, cutting and delivery 
to the nearest factory or railroad point. As 
the cost of cane production consists almost 
entirely of labor, and wages in Cuba, for some 
years previous to the insurrection, ranged 
about the same in Spanish gold as similar work 
commanded in the United States, the profits in 
this branch of the business have not been great, 
and have been dependent upon skill in manage- 
ment, quality of lands, and proximity to the 
factories. 

' ' The supply of labor and rates of wages in 
the future are now most serious questions to 
the sugar producer in Cuba, and present the 
greatest obstacle to reduction of cost. For 
supplies of cane the manufacturer must depend 
either upon his own resources, or upon large 
planters. Factories to be operated at a profit 
must be kept running day and night, and cane, 
owing to its nature, must be ground immedi- 
ately it is cut. The grinding season in Cuba 




GRIXDIXG SUGAR - CANE. 



Cuba's Sugar Industry 183 

is limited to about one hundred and twenty 
working days, and small farmers, while they 
can generally find a market for their cane, can- 
not be depended on for a constant regular sup- 
ply. Had Cuba the power to dictate her own 
prices, she could maintain sufficient margin to 
overcome local difficulties, but that power has 
long since passed and future profits must be 
dependent upon her economies. The price of 
cane to her planters is dependent upon the 
price at which her manufacturers can sell their 
sugar, and this price in turn is dependent upon 
the price at which other sugar-producing coun- 
tries, especially Germany, the great factor in 
the world's sugar trade, can place her goods, 
duty paid, in New York. If Cuba in the future 
should have to compete to any extent, in the 
United States, with free sugar from other 
countries, while a duty was exacted from 
Cuban sugar, her case would seem to be hope- 
less.'' 

So great is Cuba's reliance upon her sugar 
industry that a rise or falling off in it means 
depression or elation in every part of the 
Island. In 1906, the United States paid to 
Cuba $72,650,000 for 1,092,180 tons of sugar, 
and the prices ranged from 3y 2 cents to 5^ 



184 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

cents per pound. The result was general pros- 
perity and contentment. Since then the prices 
have risen and fallen through frequent changes 
and a wide range, and they are once more high 
enough to make the planter and manufacturer 
happy. But the average price and profit for 
any series of recent years have not been such 
as to encourage investment in the industry, 
and those engaged in it are only too conscious 
of the fact that their prosperity rests upon a 
very unstable basis. There are those who look 
for relief of Cuba's difficulties in the cessation 
of the European bounties, and a complete solu- 
tion of them in annexation to the United States, 
but either contingency is a slender dependence. 



CHAPTER X 

Cuba's tobacco industry 

Cuba's tobacco has a great advantage over 
her sugar in the facts that it can always com- 
mand a good price and is beyond the reach of 
competition in the matter of quality. Every 
likely soil and climate in the world has been 
tried in the effort to produce a leaf similar to 
that grown in the fields of the celebrated Vu- 
elta Abajo. Even though seeds from the best 
Cuban plants have been used, the results have 
never approached the object sought. What 
is commonly known as " Havana " tobacco 
stands alone without a rival or any satisfactory 
substitute. 

One of the peculiarities of the tobacco plant 
is that a very slight change in the conditions 
under which it is grown will effect a consid- 
erable change in the character of the leaf pro- 
duced. Plants raised in soils composed of pre- 
cisely the same chemical ingredients will yield 
quite different tobacco when those ingredients 
happen to be present in varying proportions. 

186 



186 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

In Cuba, as elsewhere, it is no uncommon thing 
to find tobacco of the highest grade upon a 
piece of land within a stone's throw of another 
field where only the poorest quality of leaf can 
be produced. This is a fact that should be 
remembered by prospective purchasers of ad- 
vertised Cuban lands. Promotion companies 
and agents frequently offer tobacco acreage at 
high prices, which they justify by statements 
of the production of adjacent vegas. Often the 
purchaser finds himself in possession of a 
worthless tract lying alongside of one which 
is yielding handsome profits to its owner. 
There is very little land in the tobacco districts 
of Pinar del Bio which has not been tried out 
and it is not safe to buy anything unless it is 
actually in cultivation. In Oriente there is 
plenty of good tobacco land available, but up 
to the present it has not been made to produce 
a grade of leaf equal to what is termed par- 
tidos. 

Tobacco is raised in the most widely sep- 
arated parts of the earth and in the most di- 
versified climates. The world's annual crop of 
the leaf approximates 2,000,000,000 pounds 
with a value in the raw state of about $225,- 
000,000. Of this volume, Cuba produces no 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 187 

more than 60,000,000 pounds in a good year, 
bnt receives for it abont $20,000,000. These 
figures clearly indicate the comparatively high 
price which the Cuban leaf commands. Fully 
three-fourths of the total crop comes from 
Pinar del Rio, the remainder mainly from 
Habana and Santa Clara. Oriente is fast com- 
ing to the fore as a tobacco producing province. 

A very small proportion of the product of 
Pinar del Rio, and probably none of the out- 
put of other parts of the Island, is true " Cu- 
ban tobacco." After the Ten Years' War, 
foreign seeds, chiefly that of Mexican tobacco, 
were used extensively to revive the ruined 
vegas. These exotic varieties throve and al- 
most entirely usurped the place of the original 
plant. Greatly improved by the Cuban envi- 
ronment, the greater part of the Island's out- 
put is, nevertheless, Mexican tobacco. 

It is often claimed that the Cuban tobacco 
grower possesses some peculiar or mystical 
skill, but the truth doubtless is that his success 
is mainly due to the combination of soil, water, 
and air, that his plants enjoy. If it were 
otherwise the superiority in product which the 
Vuelta Abajo has maintained for three cen- 
turies would have been contested by other sec- 



188 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

tions. The famous " Lower Valley " lies in 
the shadow of the Organ Mountains, to the 
southwest of Habana. The district is about 
one hundred miles in length by ten in width. 
The earliest plantations of the Spaniards were 
set out in the Vuelta Abajo at the close of the 
sixteenth century. It is the flavor only of the 
leaf from this district that creates the extraor- 
dinary demand for it. The partidos varieties, 
as the best leaf from other parts of the Island 
is called, is larger and has a better texture. 

An average year's output of Vuelta Abajo 
leaf will be about 260,000 bales, or 28,600,000 
pounds. Somewhat more than half of this is 
converted into first-class cigars and cigarettes 
by the manufacturers of Habana, and the re- 
mainder is exported to the United States and 
Europe. The Province of Habana produces 
about one-fourth as much as Pinar del Rio, 
say 65,000 bales. This is called partido leaf. 
About 15,000 bales of it are consumed in the 
Cuban factories and the rest shipped to Key 
West, New York, and Europe. Of the 125,000 
bales of what is called Remedios leaf, which 
Santa Clara produces annually, one-fifth is 
used locally and the balance sent to the United 
States. Oriente has a production somewhat 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 189 



less than that of Santa Clara, and consumes 
about the same proportion locally. This to- 
bacco is generally termed Mayari. It is a 
coarse leaf, too low-grade for the American 
market, but acceptable at a low price to the 
smokers of Spain, Italy, and Austria, whither 
it is shipped. The Provinces of Matanzas and 
Puerto Principe do not produce enough to- 
bacco to make an effect upon the market. 

Tobacco factories are operated in most of the 
cities and large towns of Cuba. They give 
employment to a large number of men and 
women. A considerable proportion of this 
labor is skilled and high-priced. Many work- 
men receive five dollars or more as the daily 
wage. The best paid employes are those called 
" selectors," who have the faculty of correctly 
grading tobacco leaves by a quick touch and 
rapid glance. In other branches of the manu- 
facture, such as wrapping and sorting, experts 
will earn as much by piece work. The finished 
product of the factories amounts to upwards 
of 200,000,000 cigars and nearly 15,000,000 
packages of cigarettes yearly. 

Some of the finest buildings in Habana are 
devoted to the manufacture of tobacco. The 
factories are numerous and include many in 



190 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

which no more than twenty hands are engaged, 
but the bulk of the business is centred in a 
few companies that each employ thousands of 
workmen. There has been considerable reor- 
ganization among the large manufacturing con- 
cerns in recent years, involving the introduc- 
tion of a large amount of additional capital 
and the extension of American interests. More 
than 25,000 persons gain a livelihood in the 
tobacco business in Habana alone. Not less 
than ninety-five per cent, of the exports of man- 
ufactured tobacco are from Habana. A large 
proportion of the factory output of interior 
towns is accounted for by domestic consump- 
tion. 

The Cuban veguero possesses a skill in to- 
bacco growing which is the result of the accu- 
mulated experience and practice of genera- 
tions. In his hands the cultivation of the nar- 
cotic plant is a highly developed art, but it 
has not been reduced to a science. The most 
successful Cuban planter can not tell you defi- 
nitely how he produces his results, nor why 
certain processes insure desired consequences. 
He has no fixed formulas, and some of his most 
cherished practices are based on sheer super- 
stition. As a rule, he is working ground that 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 191 



his father and grandfather worked before him. 
Through their experience and his own he has 
gained an intimate knowledge of its needs, 
capacity, and peculiarities. He can produce 
results from it that Europeans and Americans 
have never succeeded in equalling without his 
aid. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if the Cuban 
is securing from his tobacco land the utmost 
yield in quality or quantity of which it is capa- 
ble. In the cultivation he clings to many crudi- 
ties; his irrigation is haphazard and often 
misjudged; he does not avail himself of the 
mechanical appliances at his command. Where 
the best leaf is grown, traditional methods are 
most firmly entrenched. There have, however, 
been introduced great improvements in the 
treatment of lands controlled by large corpora- 
tions. The chief and most effective of these 
is the cultivation of the leaf under cover. In 
order to encourage this development of the 
industry, the duty on cheese cloth, which 
ranged from fifteen to fifty cents per kilogram, 
was repealed in 1902. Since then the area 
under cover has steadily increased and the 
results achieved justify the belief that Cuba 
will soon rival Sumatra in the production of 
fine wrappers. 



192 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
Tobacco seed is sown in carefully prepared 
beds during the month of September. About 
sixty days later the young plants are set out 
in the field with eighteen inches of space be- 
tween each. Constant pruning and weeding 
are necessary in order to insure a healthy and 
vigorous growth. At the same time the tobacco 
worm and leaf slug must be picked off as fast 
as they appear on the plant. 

In January the plants are cut and the leaves 
hung to dry. When thoroughly dried, the 
leaves are petuned, or sprinkled with a solution 
of tobacco water until fermentation has taken 
place. The leaves are then roughly sorted with 
regard to size and quality, assembled in 
bunches, or hands, and packed in bales, each 
weighing about 125 pounds. 

It is estimated that over one hundred thou- 
sand persons in Cuba are engaged in the to- 
bacco industry, and that eighty thousand of 
these are employed in the commercial cultiva- 
tion of the leaf. One man is generally able to 
properly look after two acres, which will con- 
tain 15,000 plants. 

The cost of cultivation varies considerably 
in different parts of the Island and under dif- 
ferent conditions. In the Province of Pinar 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 193 

del Bio the cost of preparing the ground, fer- 
tilizing, planting, care, rent, and general serv- 
ices, will approximate $8,000 for one caballeria, 
or 3314 acres. The yield.from such a tract will 
average 211 tercios, or bales, with a value of 
$50 each; 54 arrobas (1,350 pounds) of seed, 
worth $216; and about $20 worth of stems. 
So that the output would fetch approxi- 
mately $10,800, leaving $2,800 profit to the 
grower. 

Mr. Gustavo Bock, an owner and manufac- 
turer of the greatest experience, puts the mat- 
ter in a different form. His statement, as 
quoted in Industrial Cuba, follows : 

" To produce 100 bales of tobacco, of 50 
kilos each, a farmer would rent one caballeria 
of land, one half of which he would employ 
for tobacco cultivation and the remainder for 
vegetables. 

Rent of land per year $ 300 

250,000 plants at $1.50 per thousand 375 

6,250 pounds of Peruvian fertilizer 250 

Hiring of oxen 102 
Wages and maintenance of 12 men at $25 per 

month each 3,000 

Yaguas, Majaguas, and expenses 300 
Taxes, physician's bills and medicines, and 

living expenses of the planter and his family 400 

Total . $4,727 



194 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

" So that a planter would have to sell each 
50 kilos of tobacco at $47.27 to cover the cost of 
production. The foregoing figures show clearly 
that the production of tobacco in the Island of 
Cuba is more expensive than that in any other 
part of the world, especial attention being 
necessary to its raising from the day it is 
planted to the cutting of the leaf, besides the 
subsequent treatment necessary in order to ob- 
tain good leaf; which goes on day and night 
if a good quality is desired." 

The use of cover, of course, entails addi- 
tional expenses, but it also produces greater 
results and larger profits. The cloth awning, 
which is stretched over the field at a height of 
six or eight feet, has the effect of tempering 
the strength of the sun's rays, moderating the 
force of the wind and diminishing its detri- 
mental action on the leaves,' keeping the soil 
moist, and excluding the insects that prey upon 
the plant. Thus, aside from the improve- 
ment in the product produced by the use of 
cover, there is a substantial saving in labor 
secured. 

According to an official statement relating to 
cultivation under cover in Pinar del Rio, 212 
hectares (a hectare is 2.47 acres), in which 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 195 

6,776,000 seedlings were set, gave plants, ac- 
cording as they were budded or not, varying 
in height from 1.78 to 2.10 meters, with 14 to 
18 leaves on each plant, with a yield of 14 per 
cent, for plants weighing 40 pounds and 60 per 
cent, of first-class wrapper leaves. The aver- 
age cost per hectare in the Province was 
$736.44. 

On the other hand, two well-known and ex- 
perienced planters of that Province state that 
tobacco grown under cover will yield 330 bales 
to the caballeria, instead of 150 produced by 
the ordinary method, giving leaves from 28 to 
32 inches long by 14 to 16 inches wide in the 
proportion of 7 per cent. This is an enormous 
increase in yield over that ordinarily obtained, 
but it may not be accepted as representative of 
the results generally secured. 

The average annual exports of Cuban to- 
bacco are valued at about $27,000,000. This 
sum is less than half the value of the average 
sugar output. The relative importance of the 
two industries must not be gauged by these 
figures. Although tobacco culture and manu- 
facture are mainly carried on in a compara- 
tively small section of the Island, their bene- 
ficial influence upon the community is wide- 



196 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

spread and greater than the Cubans in general 
suspect it to be. The prospects for the devel- 
opment of the tobacco industry and the possi- 
bilities of its economic improvement are much 
better than in the case of sugar. The former 
entails fewer hazards and larger profits than 
the latter. There is greatly less possibility of 
concentrated control in the production of to- 
bacco than there is in the growing of sugar- 
cane. More than in all this, however, the bene- 
ficial character of the tobacco industry lies in 
its especial availability to the small capitalist 
and the individual planter; its demand for 
skilled and intelligent labor ; and its extensive 
employment of artisans. The vegueros of 
Cuba and the employes of the Habana cigar 
factories are the most intelligent and best paid 
classes among the working people of the 
Island. 

At the close of the last war of independence 
the Cuban tobacco industry was practically 
destroyed. In this insurrection fighting was 
carried on, for the first time, in the Province 
of Pinar del Rio. Most of the plantations were 
wiped out and the cattle, upon which they de- 
pended for draft animals, were either killed or 
carried off. Worse still, the population of the 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 197 

Province was reduced from thirty-six thousand 
to barely one-sixth of that number. The first 
crop after the restoration of peace yielded no 
more than one-tenth of the former average 
production. The outlook of the industry was 
extremely black when an American syndicate 
supplied the capital necessary to give it a 
fresh start. Since then the process of resus- 
citation has progressed steadily. There is, 
however, room for a much greater develop- 
ment. Increase in the labor supply will permit 
of extension of the area of cultivation, and 
improvement in methods will result in greater 
yield and better quality. It is certain that 
under the stimulus of foreign capital and for- 
eign management tobacco cultivation in Cuba 
will soon far surpass the production of its 
palmiest days. 

The prospect for the manufacturing branch 
of the industry, which has never been con- 
ducted to its best advantage, is equally good. 
The introduction of extensive American inter- 
ests has put new life into the business, and the 
amalgamation of several large independent fac- 
tories has been followed by excellent results to 
the corporations immediately concerned, as 
well as to the business at large. 



198 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

The import tariff imposed on Cuban cigars 
by the McKinley Act was a great blow to the 
manufacturers of Cuba. Many of them moved 
their factories to the United States, where, be- 
ing able to import the raw material on favor- 
able terms, they found themselves in a position 
to make and sell cigars of Cuban tobacco at a 
profit. The effect of this movement was to 
greatly decrease the exportation of manufac- 
tured tobacco from Cuba and to increase pro- 
portionally the shipment of leaf. At the same 
time the production of cigars in the United 
States expanded greatly and reached the 
enormous quantity of 5,000,000,000 per an- 
num. 

As a remedy to this condition of affairs, the 
Cuban Government removed the export duty 
on cigars and cigarettes, whilst maintaining 
that on leaf tobacco and increasing it on the 
higher grades. The justice and wisdom of this 
step are illustrated by the following statement 
by Mr. Bock : 

" To manufacture in the United States 1,000 
cigars, weighing 12 pounds, sold in Habana, 
unstemmed, 25 pounds of filler, and 5 pounds 
of wrapper, we should arrive at the following 
results : 



Cuba's Tobacco Industry 199 

For export duty on the leaf in Cuba, 30 pounds 

of leaf at $12 per 100 kilos $ 3.60 

Import duty in the United States on 25 pounds 

of filler at 35 cents each 8.75 

Import duty in the United States on 5 pounds 

of wrapper at $2 each 10.00 

Total $22.35 

The same 1,000 cigars imported from Cuba, 

weighing 12 pounds at $4.50 per pound $54.00 

Export duty, 25%, ad valorem, valued at $60 

per thousand 15.00 

Total $69.00 

making a difference of $46.65 against the Cu- 
ban product. ' ' 

The tobacco interests, like the sugar planters 
and manufacturers, are hoping for a turn of 
the political wheel that will bring about free 
trade or complete reciprocity between the 
United States and Cuba. The need of relief 
is not so great, however, with the former as 
with the latter. Cuba's tobacco industry is in 
a fair way, with every likelihood of improve- 
ment in its favor. 



CHAPTER XI 

Cuba's mineral resources 

The possession of gold ornaments by the 
natives of Cuba at the time of Columbus' dis- 
covery of the Island gave it a reputation for 
mineral wealth which was maintained for cen- 
turies on a somewhat slender basis. The pre- 
cious metals have never been found in consid- 
erable quantities, and it was only in compara- 
tively recent years that any serious mining 
enterprises were established. The Spanish 
Government, for some incomprehensible rea- 
son, discouraged the exploitation and even the 
investigation of the mineral resources of Cuba, 
and practically nothing was definitely known 
about them until the United States Geological 
Survey made a geological reconnaissance 
shortly after the Spanish-American War. 

With the exception of asphalt, which is pro- 
duced on a commercial scale in the provinces 
of Habana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Puerto 

200 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 201 

Principe, the mineral development, and per- 
haps the mineral resources of Cuba are re- 
stricted to the mountainous region at the east- 
ern end of the Island, occupied mainly by the 
Province of Oriente. There is no doubt but 
that this region is extremely rich in many val- 
uable minerals. The present development is 
insignificant as compared with the future pos- 
sibilities. Lack of labor is a bar to the exten- 
sion of mining, and several deposits of ascer- 
tained value are not worked on account of the 
absence of transportation facilities. With im- 
provement in these conditions it is certain that 
the mineral output of the Island will take an 
important place in its commerce. 

To the east and west of Santiago de Cuba 
are many deposits of iron ore, most of them 
denounced, but none of them developed. 
Among these is a group of mines, chief of 
which is the Camaroncids, fifty-six miles from 
Santiago de Cuba, the ore of which is said to 
average sixty-eight per cent. iron. 

In part, it is widely believed that iron ore 
of the finest quality abounds throughout the 
Sierra Maestra region. A mining engineer of 
experience is responsible for the statement that, 
in the vicinity of Mayari, near Nipe Bay, de- 



202 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

posits of high grade ore have been discovered 
" of sufficient extent to supply the demands of 
the whole world for the next century." 

Iron is the chief mineral product of Cuba. 
The first " denouncement " of an iron mine in 
the Island was made in the year 1861, but it 
was not until 1883 that the investment of cap- 
ital made the exploitation of the deposits of 
the Sierra Maestra possible. In the following 
year, the Juragua Iron Company, an American 
concern, made the first shipment of iron ore 
from the Island. At this time the Spanish 
authorities granted a number of concessions 
favorable to foreign corporations engaged in 
mining. Under this encouragement the pioneer 
company extended its operations and a few 
years later the Spanish-American Iron Com- 
pany, organized in the United States, entered 
the field. The Sigua Iron Company and the 
Cuban Steel Ore Company followed. The op- 
erations of all these concerns were carried on 
in the vicinity of Santiago de Cuba until a few 
years ago, when the Spanish-American Iron 
Company established a large plant at Felton, 
in the Nipe Bay district. 

The most important recent development in 
the industry is the acquisition by the Bethle- 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 203 

hem Steel Company of an iron ore deposit 
occupying an area of about 900 acres, lying 
twelve miles to the east of Santiago. This is 
regarded by experts as one of the most im- 
portant mineral discoveries ever made in 
Cuba. Measurements by mining engineers 
give the contents of the ore-beds as 75,000,000 
tons. 

The ore obtained from the Sierra Maestra 
is both hematite and magnetite, rich in iron and 
low in phosphorus and sulphur. It is espe- 
cially adapted to the Bessemer process of man- 
ufacture. An average analysis shows more 
than sixty-two per cent, metallic iron. 

These properties are not mines in the strict 
sense of the word. The ore is found in small 
irregular bodies, near the tops of the hills, and 
it is extracted by quarrying, so that the work- 
ings are entirely exposed to view. Explosives 
and steam shovels are used in taking out the 
ore, which is unusually hard. As it does not 
lie in seams, with definite walls, one of the chief 
difficulties of operation consists in sorting it 
from the ordinary rock. 

The first shipment of iron ore from Cuba, 
made by the Juragua Iron Company in 1884, 
amounted to somewhat more than 25,000 tons. 



204 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



Since that time there has been an almost steady 
increase in the output of Oriente. The annual 
production is now in excess of a million tons, 
approximating $5,000,000 in value. It is prob- 
able that the American investments in iron 
mines in Cuba amount to at least $20,000,000. 
The large operating companies, with one ex- 
ception, originated in Philadelphia, and have 
now affiliated interests. 

The labor problem has been a constant dif- 
ficulty with the mining companies. They find 
the native whites quite unequal to the arduous 
work of the mines, and the blacks are not sat- 
isfactory on account of their irregularity and 
difficulty of control. Despite the cost, the 
greater part of the labor employed is imported 
from the provinces of Spain. These men are 
strong, steady workers, and orderly. The com- 
panies take great pains to secure their comfort 
and health, with the result that there are prac- 
tically no desertions and little difficulty in re- 
cruiting the force. 

In this connection it will be of interest to 
describe the measures by which the Spanish- 
American Mining Company has almost ban- 
ished malaria from its settlement at Daiquiri, 
especially as their experience should be sig- 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 205 

nificant and suggestive to every corporation 
largely employing labor in Cuba. 

An outbreak of yellow fever in 1908 led to 
the thorough sanitation of Daiquiri by the 
United States Army Medical Corps. The Com- 
pany fully appreciated the condition in which 
the camps were left, and decided to maintain 
it. A sanitary department was organized and 
has been since kept up at a monthly expense of 
a thousand or more dollars. A corps of ex- 
perienced men make frequent inspections of the 
dwellings, see that they are kept clean and that 
all water barrels are covered with netting. A 
determined and systematic campaign has been 
waged against the anopheles, or malaria mos- 
quito. As a result, malaria, which Cubans look 
upon as a necessary evil, has been reduced to 
a negligible quantity, and the general efficiency 
of the force has been greatly increased. 

The total number of malaria cases in the year 
1909 were 234. For the last five months of the 
year the number was only 48, and on December 
31, there was not a single case in the hospi- 
tal. The improvement has been maintained. 
The following table shows how the present 
condition compares with that of former 
years : 



206 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



Year 


Average number 


Total cases of 


Percentage of labor force sick with 




on pay roll 


malaria 


malaria at 


some time of the year 


1901 


920 


1,131 




123 


1902 


1,312 


1,362 




104 


1903 


1,348 


1,116 




83 


1904 


858 


394 




46 


1905 


941 


436 




46 


1906 


1,309 


746 




57 


1907 


1,315 


689 




52 


1908 


1,292 


632 




49 


1909 


1,391 


234 




17 



In 1909, with 1,391 men on the pay roll, the 
average number of patients in the hospital 
daily was fourteen. In other words, there was 
only one per cent, of the force on the sick list. 

The men themselves, who at first looked upon 
the sanitary campaign as a combination of joke 
and nuisance, now fully appreciate the effects 
of it, and lend their hearty aid to the sanitary 
corps in their efforts. 

The work of the sanitary force consists of 
the daily collection and burning of all house- 
hold rubbish, the care and cleaning of the bar- 
racks, a house to house inspection of sanitary 
conditions, care of water tanks and water bar- 
rels in the mine cuts, petrolization of standing 
water, general cleaning of the villages and 
camps, and constant war on the mosquitoes. 
The villages, camps, and settlements under the 
Company's control are free from mosquitoes, 
and the diseases which they transmit have no 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 207 



chance of propagation. Care is taken to in- 
spect all newcomers and any found to be mala- 
rial are sent away. 

The cost of the sanitary work for a year is 
about $12,000, but the full value of it can not 
be estimated in figures. Its chief benefits are 
contingent, and appear in general cleanliness, 
health, cheerfulness, and efficiency. Whilst 
these results would warrant the expenditure, 
if there were no financial return for it what- 
ever, the fact is that the outlay is fully justified 
if measured solely on the basis of dollars and 
cents. Under present conditions there are at 
least ten men fewer in hospital each day than 
there were formerly. Instead of being a charge 
on the work, these ten men produce during the 
year 8,000 to 9,000 tons of ore, which far more 
than repay the expense of sanitation. 

Manganese, a material essential to the manu- 
facture of Bessemer steel, is found in large 
quantities in the mountain range running be- 
tween Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo. At- 
tention was first called to the deposits shortly 
before the Spanish- American War, and several 
companies were formed to exploit them. One 
of these, the Ponupo Mining and Transporta- 
tion Company, is responsible for by far the 



208 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
greater part of the operations in this mineral. 
It has its headquarters in Santiago de Cuba, 
but is controlled by American capital. The 
equipment of this company includes a sixteen- 
mile railroad, enabling it to ship its product to 
Santiago. The output of the Ponupo Com- 
pany's mines averages forty-seven per cent, 
metallic manganese. 

Several other companies are in possession of 
good yielding properties and are well equipped 
for operation, but the development of the busi- 
ness seems to have been checked. The reason 
for this is not apparent. Conditions appear to 
be favorable to profitable operation. The de- 
mand in the United States is constant at prices 
that should be satisfactory to the miners. To 
quote Mr. Kobert P. Porter: " Whatever con- 
ditions of taxation, duties, and other expenses 
on the production of manganese existed previ- 
ously have been changed by the war, and en- 
tirely new conditions are presented now for the 
continuance of the work. It is believed that 
the mines are practically inexhaustible, and 
that the metal, while varying considerably in 
quantity, is in the main high grade and can be 
mined and shipped at prices that will extend 
the industry until the United States steel manu- 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 209 

facturers will get their entire manganese sup- 
ply from this nearest known manganese dis- 
trict." 

On the other hand, the report of the geolog- 
ical survey, referred to above, presents an en- 
tirely different view of the matter. From this 
report it is gathered that the manganese de- 
posits of Cuba usually occur in limestone and 
sandstone, associated with a secondary silica, 
called jasper. The ore is not in large bodies, 
but in small pockets, irregularly scattered, de- 
posits varying in size from a pebble to masses 
that weigh several hundred tons. Manganese 
is also found in the form of wash dirt, which is 
the result of decomposition of the original ore- 
bearing rock. Most of the Cuban ore is in this 
form. 

" The concensus of opinion of various ex- 
perts who have looked into the matter seems 
to be that the Cuban deposits of manganese ore 
are not likely to be very valuable, as they are 
too scattered, too irregular, too small, and too 
inaccessible to be profitably worked. The fact 
that there is undoubtedly a considerable quan- 
tity of manganese in the Province of Santiago 
de Cuba seems to be more than offset by the 
peculiarities of its occurrence. If, however, the 



210 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

world's supply of manganese should run short, 
these deposits would undoubtedly be thought 
considerable and important. With the new 
facilities for concentration that have recently 
been installed in the plants already in opera- 
tion, some of the deposits may, indeed, be very 
profitably worked.'' 

The first mines worked in the Island of Cuba 
were at the place now called El Cobre, situated 
about twelve miles west of the City of Santiago 
de Cuba, and celebrated for its shrine and 
miracle-working image of the Virgin. These 
mines were opened in the year 1530, and were 
worked as Crown property for more than two 
centuries, and then abandoned. Following a 
century of disuse, the mines were re-opened by 
a British corporation, exactly five hundred 
years after work was first started in them. 
The venture proved highly successful. The 
official records show that between fifty and 
sixty million dollars' worth of ore was taken 
from El Cobre between the years 1830 and 1868. 
About the close of this period the mine-owners 
encountered various difficulties. They became 
involved in a long and costly lawsuit, which 
they lost, with the railroad upon which they 
were dependent for the transportation of their 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 211 

product. This was followed by a fall in the 
price of copper, and unsettled political condi- 
tions. As a result, the mines were shut down, 
and in the succeeding wars the plant was des- 
troyed and the workings flooded to such an 
extent that it was not even possible to inspect 
them. 

After the last war, an American company, 
styled the San Jose Copper Mining Company, 
took over the property and revived it. This 
concern and a few others are now actively at 
work in the El Cobre district, with good pros- 
pects of success. 

Previous to the year 1830, the only copper 
properties in Cuba that were developed were 
those at El Cobre. But about that time, depos- 
its were discovered in numerous parts of the 
Provinces of Puerto Principe, Santa Clara, and 
Matanzas. The most notable of these that 
were worked in days past are near the town of 
Las Minas, which is about twenty-seven miles 
east of the City of Puerto Principe, on the 
Puerto Principe and Nuevitas Railroad. Some 
of the many old shafts at this place show signs 
of considerable productiveness at one time. 
About ten years ago these properties were 
taken in hand by an American corporation, 



212 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



called the Cuban Copper Company, which in 
1909 exported 59,430 tons of copper. 

It seems to be the general opinion of experts, 
who have investigated the conditions, that 
Cuba will never produce gold in large quanti- 
ties, although her silver mines may be profit- 
ably developed to a considerable extent. Nev- 
ertheless, gold mining enterprises are started 
every few years in the Island. The sole basis 
for these appears to be the traditions and ques- 
tionable records of the past production of the 
old mine at Holguin, in the Province of Ori- 
ente. The group of workings at this point are 
said to have been known since the discovery 
of the Island. They were operated by a native 
in 1856, and it is claimed that one shaft pro- 
duced ore bearing sixty-seven ounces of gold 
and twenty-three ounces of silver per ton of 
2,000 pounds, making a value of $1,407 a ton 
at the time. In the same district, a native is 
said to have discovered a pocket that yielded 
$15,000 in fifteen days, the ore being worth one 
thousand dollars for every hundred pounds of 
mineral. Samples taken from the same place, 
and expertly assayed, showed a maximum of 
thirty-two ounces of gold to the ton of 2,240 
pounds, and four ounces of silver. 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 213 

Frequent rumors of rich finds in Cuba reach 
New York and London, but at present there is 
not a gold or silver mine in profitable operation 
in the Island. 

Bituminous deposits are found in every 
province of Cuba. They vary from a clear 
translucent oil resembling petroleum to hard 
grahamite and substances that closely resemble 
lignite coal. The report of the Geological Sur- 
vey's reconnaissance says: "Every sugar 
planter claims to have an asphalt property on 
his estate, and every other man knows where 
there is one in which is a fortune for his friend. 
Many of these deposits have been worked, more 
or less extensively, in past years. Oil has 
been found in Cuba which has been successfully 
refined in the island and used as a luminant, 
also as a fuel; asphalt is mined there which is 
being employed as an enricher in the manu- 
facture of gas, and is also doing duty as a 
material for roofing and street paving; gra- 
hamite and pitch are found there, which sell in 
this country and abroad to manufacturers of 
varnish and paint ; and on at least one planta- 
tion a substance is being mined which performs 
the functions of coal in the kitchen brasero, 
although experts have frequently declared that 



214 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

there is no coal in Cuba. Whatever the exact 
and proper titles for these various forms of 
bitumen, their uses would seem to be suffi- 
ciently varied and the deposits extensive 
enough to be of some commercial interest. 
There is, however, only a limited demand for 
the kind of bitumens most frequently found in 
Cuba, the class which is most suitable for var- 
nishes; and, on the other hand, no convincing 
evidence has been offered that great supplies 
exist of the asphalt suitable for roofing and 
paving, the uses to which the largest quantities 
of asphalt are applied. By large supplies we 
mean supplies similar to those of the asphalt 
lake in Trinidad. It should be remembered, 
however, that the asphalt deposits of Cuba 
have not yet been scientifically exploited, and 
it is impossible for anyone to say definitely 
that the supply is not sufficient to be commer- 
cially important." 

One of the greatest needs of Cuba's indus- 
trial development is a domestic fuel supply. 
The discovery of a coal mine might be more 
profitable than that of a gold mine. This fact 
has led to extensive prospecting and to fre- 
quent declarations of the presence of coal, 
which turned out to be lignite or grahamite. 



Cuba's Mineral Resources 215 

The British Consul at Santiago de Cuba, in 
1895, reported the discovery of a coal deposit 
within fifty miles of that City. The analyses 
claimed for samples seemed to indicate com- 
mercial possibilities, but no operation of the 
deposit has followed. 

The extent and richness of the deposits of 
iron ore in Cuba are beyond question, and, 
although their operation has become an impor- 
tant industry, development in that direction 
has hardly more than commenced. As to other 
mineral resources, there is a decided probabil- 
ity of their proving great in the future. At 
present little is definitely known about the mat- 
ter. With the exception of the geological re- 
connaissance to which reference has been made, 
and which was necessarily somewhat cursory, 
no scientific investigation of the Island's min- 
eral wealth has ever been made. The Govern- 
ment might profitably devote some of the 
money which it is wasting on needless consu- 
lates abroad to such a useful purpose. 



CHAPTER XII 

LATENT AGEICULTURAL WEALTH 

Cuba is, first and last, an agricultural coun- 
try. The climate, soil, and proximity to favor- 
able markets, create unusually favorable con- 
ditions. The recent extensions of the railroad 
system, and the additions to the calsadas, 
or government highways, of which one thou- 
sand miles were built in the last year, have 
greatly improved the facilities for interior 
transportation. The Government has estab- 
lished experiment stations, and in other ways 
encouraged farming and stock raising; rail- 
road and development companies have ex- 
tended generous aid in the same direction. 
Millions have been sunk, during late years, in 
organized efforts to promote agricultural in- 
dustries in different parts of the Island, aside 
from the investments in sugar and tobacco. 
But, notwithstanding, agriculture has not ad- 
vanced in Cuba at anything like the rate that 
should have been experienced. 

216 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 217 

Before the last war there were upwards of 
one hundred thousand plantations, ranches, 
and farms in the country, of which the value 
was not less than $200,000,000. Very few of 
these properties were made to yield adequately. 
Among the sugar and tobacco estates, good 
management was the exception, rather than 
the rule. Despite the natural advantages that 
he enjoyed, or perhaps because of them, the 
Cuban farmer hardly ever made the most of 
his opportunities, nor displayed a respectable 
degree of enterprise. It is true that he labored 
under heavy handicaps in the political and 
economic conditions, but since these drawbacks 
have been removed he has not shown any 
marked improvement. Nor has any great ad- 
vance in agricultural development followed the 
introduction of American capital and Amer- 
ican settlers, save in the sugar and tobacco 
industries. The former has often been mis- 
applied, and the latter do not appear to have 
gained a grasp of the situation. 

That something is radically wrong in the 
state of Cuban agriculture is made glaringly 
apparent by the fact that the country imports 
annually $25,000,000 worth of foodstuffs that 
it might produce. Not only that, but several 



218 Cu ba and Her People of To-day 

of the items that make up this aggregate rep- 
resent products that might be raised in Cuba 
to an extent sufficient to supply the domestic 
demand and leave a considerable surplus for 
exportation. It is not to be supposed, however, 
that under present conditions any such results 
are possible. The Cubans might do much more 
than they are doing to make their country pro- 
ductive, but until the population is greatly 
increased no approximation to the utmost agri- 
cultural possibilities can be attained. Esti- 
mates differ widely as to the extent of the area 
under cultivation, but it is certainly a very 
small proportion of that adapted to agricul- 
ture. 

Although the soil is distinctly suitable to 
such treatment, intensive cultivation and sci- 
entific methods are practised only in a few 
places, and by foreigners, the usual proceeding 
is to plant over an extended tract, burning the 
fields in the dry season and leaving the ashes 
on the ground. When the rains have suffi- 
ciently moistened the earth, holes are made in 
it with a pointed stick, called a jan, and into 
the holes are dropped the seed or root from 
which the crop is to be derived. This method 
continuously robs the soil of the elements in 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 219 

which its fertility consists and at length it be- 
comes " tired," as the natives say. It is then 
necessary to fertilize the ground, or to aban- 
don its cultivation. The farmer usually adopts 
the latter alternative and, moving into the for- 
est, clears another tract and starts a fresh 
finca, to be treated by the same process. This 
is what the scientific agriculturalist Liebeg 
termed " a system of cultivation by expolia- 
tion." 

The great difficulty in Cuba is that, in pro- 
portion to the land available, there is little 
labor, and less capital. The most complete and 
effective remedy will, of course, be found in an 
increase of the population, but in the meanwhile 
conditions would be greatly improved if the 
Cubans could be taught to handle their lands 
more intelligently and with greater energy. 
There is no man on earth more susceptible 
to an object lesson than the Cuban. Abstruse 
theories are slow to penetrate his mind, but 
he readily grasps the significance of a visible 
exposition. For this reason it is believed that 
the experiment stations, of which there are 
now half a dozen or more in the Island, will 
not be without effect in promoting better farm- 
ing. 



220 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Nearly all the crops of northern latitudes 
may be raised satisfactorily upon the uplands 
of Cuba. It is questionable, however, whether 
wheat, barley, and oats, would be as profitable 
crops as some others to which the ground might 
be devoted. Corn of an indifferent quality is 
widely grown and fed to stock. There seems 
to be no reason why the very best varieties of 
this grain should not be produced on Cuban 
soil, and efforts are being made to induce farm- 
ers to use selected seed and better methods in 
the cultivation. Two crops a year are secured 
and, unfortunately, the ground is often sown 
continuously in corn for long periods. Rota- 
tion is something that the Cuban farmer has yet 
to appreciate. On the lands about the coast, a 
great deal of rice is raised, but the domestic 
consumption of this cereal is very large and 
there is no surplus for export. This is, how- 
ever, one of the crops which might be in- 
creased without any extraordinary effort, and 
the United States market would be open to the 
importation of all the excess product. 

Another instance of neglected opportunity 
is found in the potato. The Cuban tuber, which 
has only recently been introduced to the United 
States, is of excellent quality and might be 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 221 

made a serious rival of the famous Bermuda 
potato. Two crops a year, with an enormous 
yield to the acre, are harvested, but the output 
is far from reaching the quantity that could 
be profitably marketed. At the present time 
the United States is sending yearly to Cuba 
potatoes to more than twice the value of all 
the vegetables received from the Island, and 
the quality of the imported article is far from 
as good as that of the domestic product. Cuba 
also buys beans annually to the value of more 
than two hundred thousand dollars, despite the 
fact that every variety of this vegetable grows 
abundantly in almost any part of the Island, 
and with little cultivation. The natives con- 
sume large quantities of beans, and should not 
only grow all that they eat, but also ship con- 
siderable amounts to the ready markets which 
are open for them. An excellent quality of 
sweet potato will grow almost anywhere in the 
Island, with a large yield to the acre. The 
yam, a large variety of sweet potato, abounds 
everywhere, and with a little cultivation the 
quality could be improved to the point of cre- 
ating an export demand. 

There is very little cultivation of beets, but 
where they are raised the quality is so unusu- 



222 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

ally good and the yield so great, that it is be- 
lieved beet culture might with ordinary effort 
be made one of the leading agricultural indus- 
tries of the Island. In fact, the question of beet- 
sugar production has been raised more than 
once, but naturally enough it has not met with 
encouragement in a country where the beet is 
anathema. 

It has been demonstrated that two crops a 
year of the highest grade of peanuts can be 
raised in Cuba. It is claimed that the largest 
recorded production to the acre of the nut has 
been secured by a Cuban planter. There are 
great possibilities in this industry, but it does 
not appear to be systematically carried on any- 
where in the Island, and the peanut has no 
place in the statistics of exports. Mention has 
been made elsewhere of Cuba's great need 
of comparatively small manufacturing enter- 
prises and the benefits that might be expected 
to accrue from them. The peanut affords an 
opportunity in this direction. It is practically 
certain that several factories for the extrac- 
tion of the oil and the manufacture of the but- 
ter could be run in the Island with profit, espe- 
cially if the factories maintained their own 
plantations for the supply of the raw material. 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 223 

None of the vegetables are cultivated to the 
extent which they might be with profit. Cuba 
should export fresh vegetables in large quan- 
tities to the New York market, where the win- 
ter and spring demands are insatiable. Cu- 
cumbers, radishes, onions, lettuce, and other 
table delicacies grow all the year round in the 
Island. And instead of producing and shipping 
them, as she should, Cuba is even importing 
cabbage. The Chinese truck-gardeners are the 
only people in the Island who appear to have 
any understanding of intensive and careful cul- 
tivation, if we except a few foreigners who 
have not yet had sufficient experience to pro- 
duce the results which they are aiming at, and 
which they will doubtless achieve in time. 

All classes of Cubans eat quantities of plan- 
tain. The vegetable is rarely absent from the 
table, where it appears in all manner of forms, 
— dried and fried, baked and boiled. The ba- 
nana is also consumed in large quantities and 
in various forms. There are a great number 
of varieties of the fruit, the best known being 
the " Manzano " and the " Johnson.'' The 
latter is the variety that is cultivated most 
extensively for export. The banana industry 
is an important factor in Cuba's commerce, 



224 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

but its development is due entirely to the fact 
of the cultivation having been taken in hand 
by foreign capital and conducted under foreign 
direction. The demand for bananas might 
have continued until Doomsday without the 
Cubans having taken advantage of the obvious 
opportunity afforded by it. The United States 
takes one million dollars' worth or more of 
bananas from Cuba every year. 

Commercial fruit culture in Cuba was only 
commenced in late years and, if the banana 
business be left out of consideration, is still in 
a backward state of development. The several 
colony enterprises of American and Canadian 
land companies have had for their principal 
objects the sale and cultivation of fruit lands. 
On the whole these projects have been unsuc- 
cessful viewed from the standpoint of the set- 
tler. This has been due to a variety of causes 
which will be considered in the following chap- 
ter. Although various marketable fruits have 
grown wild in Cuba for centuries the natives 
made little or no effort to turn them to com- 
mercial account. 

In the past few years pineapples have been 
systematically raised with profit. The Cuban 
product is particularly hardy and of an excel- 



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GATHERING COCOANUTS. 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 225 

lent quality. The pina blanca is the sweetest 
variety, but it does not keep well and is there- 
fore not adapted to exportation. The pina 
morada is smaller, more scaly, and less juicy 
than the former. It has, however, greater re- 
sisting qualities and represents almost the en- 
tire export of this fruit, whilst the pwa blanca 
meets the domestic demand. The United States 
market takes several hundred thousand dol- 
lars' worth of pineapples annually from Cuba. 
"When the industry was first started, the fruit 
fetched one dollar per dozen in Habana, for 
export. The price has now fallen to about one- 
fourth of that figure on account of the increase 
in production of several countries, but even at 
present rates the pineapple can be raised in 
Cuba at a very fair profit. Little labor is in- 
volved in the cultivation, preparation for ship- 
ment is simple, and the yield is very great. 
One caballeria of land devoted to pineapples 
will cost about $4,000 to keep up during the 
five years that the plant bears. In that period 
it will give five crops of 18,000 dozen pineap- 
ples each. The last crop, however, will be too 
small for use except in the manufacture of 
preserves, and the full market price can only 
be counted on for the yield of the first three 



226 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

years. But, even at that, if 54,000 dozens of 
the fruit are marketed at twenty-five cents per 
dozen, there is a balance of $9,800, after pay- 
ing expenses, in addition to the profit to be 
secured from the last two crops. 

From this it would seem that pineapple cul- 
ture is well worth while to the man of com- 
paratively small capital, especially as the nec- 
essary ground can be bought in hundreds of 
places at less than ten dollars an acre. 

It must be admitted, however, that practical 
growers scout these statements of profits, 
which are derived from official sources. The 
owners of pineapple plantations, Americans 
and Spaniards for the most part, declare that 
they are actually shipping at a loss. But for 
some inscrutable reason they continue to raise 
the fruit with a constantly increasing out- 
put. 

One of the chief difficulties experienced by 
the investigator in Cuba lies in the proneness of 
all classes of planters to deny that there is any 
money in their business. They declare that the 
transportation companies and commission mer- 
chants are absorbing all the profits. On the 
other hand, a railroad manager will take paper 
and pencil and demonstrate convincingly that 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 227 

the pineapple grower or the citrus fruit ship- 
per is earning a very fair income. 

It is probable that the Cuban growers may 
find the canning business profitable, as those 
of Hawaii have done. If the Government 
would lend its encouragement to such an enter- 
prise by reducing or removing the high duty on 
sheet tin and cans, there is no doubt but that 
a cannery could be successfully conducted in 
western Cuba, where the greater part of the 
pineapple cultivation is carried on. 

Although, for lack of proper cultivation, 
Cuba has long produced an orange of second 
rate quality, it has been demonstrated by actual 
accomplishment in several instances that the 
fruit can be grown in the Island to equal any 
in the world. But this result can only be 
attained by the expenditure of considerable 
money, the application of considerable knowl- 
edge, and the exercise of considerable patience. 
Without either of these necessary factors, hun- 
dreds of Americans have entered upon orange 
growing, and thousands have invested in 
orange lands during the past ten years or so. 
The citrus fruit boom was launched on a very 
unstable basis and its decline was as rapid as 
its growth. 



228 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

There is as little ground for the statement 
frequently made nowadays that there is noth- 
ing in orange culture in Cuba, as there was for 
the former claim that a fortune was easily to 
be made out of it in ten years. The simple 
fact is that the man who has the means to buy 
suitable ground, to plant and tend and fertilize 
it properly, and maintain himself until the 
grove yields, may depend upon a satisfactory 
return from his investment. At present the 
margin is small, owing mainly to the expenses 
incurred in marketing the product, but there is 
every reason to believe that this burden will be 
considerably lightened in the next few years. 

Many growers have abandoned their orange 
groves in Cuba. Others have turned to grape 
fruit, which appears to promise a greater pros- 
pect of profit, although there is some danger 
of over-production injuring the business. In 
Cuba the grape fruit grows to perfection. The 
cost of its production and shipment is no 
greater than that of the orange, and it stands 
carriage a great deal better. The prices at 
present obtained for it leave a considerably 
higher margin than can be secured from 
oranges. 

Though by no means great as yet, the market 




BREADFRUIT. 



Latent Agricultural Wealth 229 

for what may be called fancy fruits, such as 
the mango, guava, and alligator pear, — which 
perhaps would more properly be classed as a 
vegetable, — is constantly expanding in the 
United States. Cuba produces a number of 
delicious fruits which are quite unknown to 
Americans at home, but which they soon learn 
to enjoy when resident in the Island. It is 
altogether probable that a persistent effort to 
introduce some of these to the United States 
market would result in a permanent demand 
at profitable prices. There is a large class of 
New York consumers of delicacies who are ever 
ready to pay for the pleasure of having their 
palates tickled. 

In the middle of the nineteenth century there 
were upwards of two thousand coffee planta- 
tions in Cuba, and the annual output amounted 
to more than two million arrobas of the berry. 
During the latter half of the century the in- 
dustry rapidly declined under the severe com- 
petition of South America, until it became al- 
most extinct before the war. There is little 
doubt, however, but that the product of the 
Island might have withstood the competition 
in question had a more rational system of cul- 
tivation and preparation been in vogue. 



230 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

In the past few years there have been signs 
of a revival of the coffee industry, especially 
in Oriente, where the tree can be cultivated to 
the best advantage. All classes of Cubans 
drink the beverage freely and about two million 
dollars' worth of the berries are imported 
yearly. It will probably not be long before 
native plantations are taking care of the entire 
domestic demand, after which they may be able 
to make an entrance to some of the foreign 
markets. 

Efforts are being made in several directions 
to revive the old-time cotton industry in Cuba, 
whence upwards of one million arrobas of the 
fibre were shipped in the year 1842. The Up- 
land and Sea Island varieties grow well in 
many parts of the Island and recently several 
small plantations have been set out under the 
direction of Americans of experience. 

Eamie and henequen grow well in Cuba and 
seem to deserve greater attention than is at 
present being paid to their cultivation. As 
these plants thrive in what is generally classed 
as barren land, there is a distinct economy in- 
volved in their culture. 



CHAPTER XIII 

FUTUKE FAEMING IN CUBA 

The possibilities latent in Cuba's splendid 
agricultural resources are incalculably great. 
It is practically certain that at some day, not 
distant as the lives of nations go, this Island 
will be completely covered with plantations and 
farms, scientifically worked by intensive meth- 
ods, and sustained by the capital of many large 
corporations. There is hardly room to doubt 
this conclusion. The demands of America and 
the great manufacturing countries of Europe 
for food supplies are constantly on the increase 
and must grow ever greater with the increase 
of their populations and the further develop- 
ment of their mechanical industries. There are 
few agricultural regions better situated and 
conditioned to take advantage of this demand. 
But before this can be done a complete refor- 
mation in the agricultural methods of Cuba 
must be brought about. Capital must be at- 
tracted, not in independent driblets, scattered 

231 



232 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

over the country, but in large sums, concen- 
trated upon particular districts and devoted to 
definite developments. In a word, the arable 
lands of Cuba, now lying idle, or being wasted 
by a ruinous method of cultivation, must be 
subjected to a process of exploitation similar 
to that which has brought the sugar and to- 
bacco industries to their present conditions of 
high development. Such a movement must 
necessarily tend to the uplift and prosperity 
of the individual farmer. It must influence his 
methods and his product for the better. It 
must open new markets to him and afford him 
increased facilities for transportation. Organ- 
ized enterprise, with ample capital, could make 
Cuba a great exporter of food stuffs. Under 
good management the investments in such en- 
terprises would undoubtedly be safe and profit- 
able. Coincident with a movement of this kind 
a national agricultural bank should be estab- 
lished, and conducted somewhat after the man- 
ner of the Egyptian Agricultural Bank, which 
has a counterpart in the Philippines. In Cuba, 
almost more than anywhere else, the small 
farmer needs loans and credit on moderate 
terms. At present, if he can borrow at all, he 
must pay an exorbitant rate of interest. 



Future Farming in Cuba 233 

Cuba is now importing annually forty mil- 
lions of dollars' worth of food supplies. More 
than half of the commodities making up this 
purchase, enormous for an agricultural popu- 
lation of two millions, might be raised in the 
country, at lower cost and of better 'quality. 

There is here an excellent opportunity for 
foreign capital. One or two such companies as 
have successfully developed new tracts in our 
Western States would find a profitable enter- 
prise in the business of supplying Cuba's food 
demands from the product of Cuban soil. This 
statement is made on the assumption that such 
concerns would avoid the errors into which 
several colonization companies, which other- 
wise had good prospects, have fallen. No such 
project should be started, except with well de- 
fined plans, plenty of capital to carry them 
through, and, above all, a management familiar 
with Cuban soils and conditions. 

To begin with, the acquisition of one thou- 
sand acres of the best arable land, well situated 
for the transportation of produce, will require 
the investment of one hundred thousand dol- 
lars, which would, however, cover the cost of 
buildings, water supply, and other necessary 
permanent accessories. Each acre would then 



234 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

call for the further investment of one hundred 
dollars, which would include all expenses until 
the first crop should be secured. The expense 
of cultivation would average about fifty dollars 
an acre, and an average return of one hundred 
dollars could be looked for. This estimate of 
fifty dollars gross profit per acre will appear 
excessive, and doubtless most Cuban farmers 
would call it ridiculous. Nevertheless, there 
are directors of experimental stations in Cuba, 
who are prepared to demonstrate the feasibil- 
ity of accomplishing it with ordinary staple 
crops, and several experts, familiar with local 
conditions, who endorse it. If it is possible to 
produce thirty, or even fifteen per cent, net 
profit from the cultivation of Cuban farm 
lands, then the fact is the most striking evi- 
dence of the shortcomings of the present meth- 
ods of agriculture. Of course, a large propor- 
tion of the estimated results would accrue from 
the economies in production which a well- 
capitalized corporation could effect by the em- 
ployment of labor-saving mechanical devices, 
and the economies which would naturally arise 
from shipping in great bulk. 

In Hawaii, Mexico, and other tropical coun- 
tries, the agricultural development has been 



Future Farming in Cuba 235 

effected mainly by large corporations, and in 
the majority of cases the enterprises have en- 
joyed financial success. All things considered, 
the prospect for snch a project would be un- 
usually good in Cuba. One such undertaking 
would be a revelation to the Cubans, and to 
the world at large. It would attract additional 
capital to the same field and otherwise work 
such benefit to the country that the Government 
and the railroad which would be immediately 
affected by it might reasonably be expected to 
lend substantial aid in its establishment and 
operation. 

It is to be feared that capitalists who have 
considered such an enterprise, have been de- 
terred from entering upon it by knowledge of 
the failures of some of the ill-judged colony 
projects. Several of these were doomed to 
failure from the outset. In some cases the 
promoters had bought poor land at low figures, 
which they sold to inexperienced settlers at 
high prices. Not infrequently these were in- 
valids, or men looking for a life of ease, to 
whom it was represented that anyone might 
make a comfortable livelihood, if not a fortune, 
from Cuban land, with little effort and the 
investment of a trifling amount. The principal 



236 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

object of such companies is to dispose of their 
property as quickly as possible. They do little, 
or nothing, for the community which they cre- 
ate. The natural result of such a combination 
of unfavorable conditions is failure in its worst 
form. Cuba has suffered incalculable harm 
from the effects of dishonest and ignorant ex- 
ploitation by American and Canadian land 
companies. But the fact remains that there 
are few more inviting fields for effort in agri- 
culture, if intelligently undertaken with suffi- 
cient means. 

The future development of Cuba must be 
along agricultural lines and it must depend 
mainly upon foreigners, of whom the greater 
proportion will unquestionably be Americans. 
The colony, or community system, is the best 
means of promoting this development, and 
there are a number of large companies engaged 
in it under admirable methods. These corpo- 
rations are affording every possible aid to the 
settlements for which they are responsible, and 
are encouraging none to take up their lands 
without the means of profitably working them. 

One of the greatest present requirements of 
Cuba is a revival of its old-time stock industry. 
The annual imports of cattle, horses, and mules 



Future Farming in Cuba 237 

are large, and would be much larger if the 
peasants had the means of buying the animals 
that they sorely need. There is probably a 
shortage of not less than half a million head 
of various kinds of stock in the Island. The 
demand is constant and great. Horses and 
mules are everywhere employed as beasts of 
burden, and the ox is the universal draft ani- 
mal. A sugar plantation of fifteen hundred 
acres will need about three hundred oxen, be- 
sides perhaps fifty horses and mules, and will 
slaughter twenty-five or more head of cattle 
monthly for meat. 

There is no doubt but that several large cat- 
tle ranches and establishments for breeding 
horses and mules might be run on American 
lines with profit to the owners. As in the case 
of farm products, the first object to be aimed 
at should be the supply of the domestic demand. 
After that has been accomplished, there should 
be no difficulty in finding markets for all the 
surplus cattle that Cuba can raise. Europe 
is in need of constantly increasing meat sup- 
plies, and the United States will soon be a 
heavy importer of animal foods. Provided 
that the industry is conducted upon modern 
methods and the breed improved, as it may be 



238 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

without difficulty, Cuba should be able to com- 
pete with any of the foremost cattle raising 
countries. 

In this connection attention may be called to 
the neglect of alfalfa in Cuba. It has been 
ascertained that the plant can be grown in the 
Island with the best results. It is well known 
to be a powerful soil fertilizer and an excellent 
crop with which to rotate. The abundance of 
fattening grasses and the quantity of refuse 
from the sugar mills available, make it im- 
probable that alfalfa could be profitably used 
as fodder on Cuban farms. There is no doubt 
however, about its ready sale in the place of 
the hay which is now imported to the extent 
of several hundred thousand dollars annually, 
and at a cost of forty dollars a ton. The 
market for alfalfa hay could be greatly en- 
larged by supplying the small towns to which 
the Cuban farmers carry pack-horse loads of 
grass, to be sold in the streets at five cents for 
two armfuls. 

One of the first steps in the improvement of 
Cuban farming must be the attainment of 
greater yield and better crops from the land. 
Let us take corn as an illustration of present 
conditions and future possibilities. For long 



Future Farming in Cuba 239 

past, Cuba has been importing this grain in 
constantly increasing quantities and at present 
is paying two million dollars a year for it. 
This is one of the most glaring instances of 
neglect. The Island should produce every ear 
of corn that is consumed in it and much more. 
As it is, a comparatively small area is devoted 
to this crop, which is deficient in both yield and 
quality. This is fully accounted for by the hap- 
hazard method of cultivation. In very rare 
cases is any other cause responsible for the 
poor results. 

Tests, made at one of the experiment sta- 
tions, of several parcels of the seeds usually 
bought for planting, showed that from forty 
to sixty per cent, were sterile, whilst the re- 
mainder were far from uniform in size and 
vitality. By using such seeds the farmer is 
wasting half the ground planted and paying 
six dollars per hundred pounds for the half that 
germinates. Under such circumstances he can 
hardly raise a crop from rented ground that 
will sell at a profit. Instead of attempting to 
do so, he grows enough to feed his few head 
of stock and takes no note of the cost. 

The use of good seed is one of the urgent 
needs in Cuban farming, but so long as de- 



240 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

pendence is had upon imported seeds, which 
invariably degenerate in the new environment, 
no appreciable improvement can be looked for. 
Nor would a campaign of education in seed 
selection, such as has been carried on in vari- 
ous parts of the United States, be economically 
feasible. The most direct and effective remedy 
will be found in the establishment of one or 
more seed farms, run on modern methods, with 
modern machinery. Such enterprises would 
not fail to return large profits on the money 
invested in them. 

The national and other experiment stations 
have not been established long enough to per- 
mit of wide effect from their efforts. In their 
immediate vicinities the improvement in farm- 
ing due to their influence is marked and there 
is every reason to count upon its extension. 
The most interesting of these stations is that 
maintained by the Cuba Railroad, under the 
direction of Dr. Paul Karutz. It covers about 
six acres of land, immediately contiguous to 
the Hotel Camaguey. 

Here may be seen an acre of cotton, all the 
plants healthy and vigorous, and most of them 
bearing more than one hundred and twenty 
pounds each. A model citrus fruit grove, with 




HOTEL CAMAGUEY. 



Future Farming in Cuba 241 

mulched trees, and velvet beans growing be- 
tween, will encourage those who still have faith 
in the citrus fruit industry of Cuba. An acre 
of peanuts, in remarkably good condition, yields 
a crop of fourteen hundred pounds. Broom- 
corn, cassava, arrowroot, jute, and many other 
commercial plants, may be seen in different 
stages of growth and development. 

Experiments with corn are constantly in 
progress, with the object of producing a serv- 
iceable seed by crossing Cuban, United States, 
and Argentine varieties. Three new varieties 
have been secured, each having long ears, large 
kernels, and thin cobs. The station is distrib- 
uting small parcels of this seed-corn to such 
farmers as show an inclination to improve 
their crops. 

Failure has fallen upon the efforts of a large 
proportion of the thousands of Americans who 
have taken up farming in Cuba. This has been 
due to a variety of causes. The chief of these 
has been insufficient money to make a fair start. 
Too often the settler comes out with little more 
than enough to pay for his land, build a modest 
dwelling, and buy a few pounds of seed. He 
is forced to depend upon his own labor solely, 
with inadequate mechanical equipment, and the 



242 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

land must support him from the first crop, or 
he is faced by starvation. In other cases, where 
the immigrant has money enough to buy good 
land and proper farm equipment, he approaches 
the task in complete ignorance of the peculiar 
conditions of agriculture in Cuba, and often 
with the additional handicap of preconceived 
ideas that are entirely wrong. He plunges into 
the cultivation of certain crops without any 
previous study or experience, and regardless 
of shipping and market conditions. Sooner or 
later he awakes to his mistake, but seldom be- 
fore the loss of time and money has seriously 
crippled his resources. Many failures are to 
be attributed to the widespread tendency 
among American settlers in Cuba to take to 
fancy farming. They are fired with the desire 
to do something out of the ordinary and to 
produce something that no one else is growing. 
It is usually the pure amateur who is afflicted 
with this mania, which always costs him dearly. 
He generally ends as a man whose sole pos- 
session is a theory. 

There is no question about the assured suc- 
cess of the man who may undertake farming 
in Cuba with the proper equipment. He must 
have ample capital, — that is to say, enough 



Future Farming in Cuba 243 

for all calculable requirements and a little over. 
He must defer serious work until he has made 
a thorough study of the conditions. He should 
then devote his efforts to the production of the 
surest crops, those entailing the least hazard 
in cultivation, and for which there is a perma- 
nent market with a steady demand. If, further- 
more, he uses intelligent methods in the culti- 
vation of his land, he can not fail of success. 

After all, so much depends upon the char- 
acter of the individual. One man will force 
success under conditions which completely 
crush another. Here you will find a flourishing 
farm, due to the natural aptitude of the owner 
for his work. On the other side of the fence, 
a misguided individual, with better opportuni- 
ties than his neighbor, is making a miserable 
mess of it, because he is entirely unsuited to 
the job. The literature of certain land com- 
panies is responsible for the presence of many 
amateur farmers in Cuba. One of these pam- 
phlets assures the reader that he may safely 
embark in farming in Cuba without experi- 
ence or knowledge, and after the first year the 
land may be depended upon to yield him a 
handsome income. This statement is supported 
by figures showing profits realized from the 



244 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
cultivation of certain staples, but no mention 
is made of the fact that these results were pro- 
duced by corporations operating with advan- 
tages from which the individual farmer is pre- 
cluded. 

It is difficult to hold the publicity man down 
to a consistently honest story. He must be an 
enthusiast to serve his employers well and, with 
perhaps the best intentions in the world, he 
shuts his eyes to the disadvantages which per- 
tain to farming in Cuba as well as to farming 
in any part of the world, and expends his elo- 
quence solely on the roseate aspects of the situ- 
ation. The literature of the best of the land 
companies is deceptive inasmuch as it draws a 
picture of the results attainable under the most 
favorable conditions, and not those which the 
average settler will experience. On the other 
hand, if the officials of such companies are ap- 
proached, or even the publicity man himself, a 
fair and honest statement can usually be ob- 
tained. 

It is not intended that anything in the fore- 
going should convey the impression that all, or 
even a majority, of the land companies in Cuba 
are untrustworthy. Many of them are fulfill- 
ing their obligations to the utmost and several 



Future Farming in Cuba 245 

are exceeding them, with a generosity that 
must meet with deserved reward in time. No 
matter how reliable the company, however, the 
prospective settler will do well not to purchase 
land until after he has seen it and had a chance 
to compare its situation and other conditions 
with property offering elsewhere. The man 
who can not spare the time and money to look 
round before making his investment has not 
sufficient means to justify his embarking in the 
contemplated enterprise. The information to 
be gained on the spot, although it must be ac- 
cepted with discrimination, is worth more than 
a cart-load of literature. 

Unless the intending settler has the capital 
and experience to justify his ' ' going it alone, ' ' 
he had better attach himself to a colony. This 
will give him social and economic advantages 
which he might not be able to secure otherwise. 
There is a string of colonies from one end of 
the Island to the other. A leisurely tour 
through these could not but largely repay an 
observant man, and would qualify him to make 
intelligent selection of a location for his own 
venture. He would gain much useful informa- 
tion regarding crops and methods of cultiva- 
tion. He would learn from instances of failure 



246 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

what to avoid, and from instances of success 
would get examples to be followed. Too much 
stress can not be laid upon the advantage of 
this plan of " projecking around," as Uncle 
Remus calls it, before settling down. Several 
American farmers, whom the writer has met, 
attribute their prosperity largely to having 
proceeded in this manner. 

Without assuming the responsibility of giv- 
ing advice, it may be said that the opinion 
is quite widespread, and apparently well- 
grounded, that Oriente will be the seat of the 
greatest agricultural development in Cuba. 
There are in this Province a number of 
flourishing colonies, under the direction of 
well-capitalized and well-managed companies. 
Whether or not a settler takes up land in one 
of these developments, he will be wise to look 
them over before making a decision as to his 
ultimate location. 

The prices of land in Cuba vary according 
to the character of the soil, the location, the 
size of the tract, its situation, and the terms of 
purchase. Thus, land may be had at from 
three to one hundred dollars an acre. 

There is room for a great deal of deception 
in selling land to persons at a distance and 



Future Farming in Cuba 247 



some agents and colony promoters take the 
fullest advantage of this fact. A prospective 
purchaser should, unless he is dealing with a 
corporation whose reliability is beyond ques- 
tion, have the titles to the land offered exam- 
ined by a capable attorney, and should get a 
certificate from the registrar of property in the 
district in which the property is situated as to 
the encumbrances that may exist against it. 
This precaution should always be taken before 
making a payment. The cost will be but a few 
dollars, but the outlay may save a great deal 
of subsequent worry and trouble. Verbal as- 
surances on these points can only be accepted 
with hazard. A promise made to remove a 
cloud upon a title is often avoided after pay- 
ment has been made. Trouble may be obviated 
by depositing the required sum in a bank to 
be paid over to the seller when the purchaser's 
lawyer has declared his satisfaction with the 
transaction. On no account should quit-claim 
deeds be accepted, nor payments made on lands 
in Cuba, without the execution of the proper 
legal documents. At least as much care should 
be exercised in buying Cuban property as 
would be considered necessary to a similar 
transaction at home. 



248 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

It is extremely hazardous to make deposits 
and undertake obligations on the strength of 
a simple paper promising to convey property 
after the completion of a certain number of in- 
stalment payments. There are concerns offer- 
ing Cuban lands for sale which have defective 
titles, only an equity interest, or perhaps no 
more than an option. 

Land titles in Cuba are generally good and 
no money need be lost on account of them if 
proper care is taken in the preliminaries of 
purchase. A transfer costs more than it does 
in the States, but there is absolute security in 
it when properly executed. No real estate 
agent whose intentions are honest will object 
to a full investigation of the title he offers. 
There are many reputable agents in Habana 
and other cities, who have spent years in the 
study of Cuban properties. It will generally 
be better for the inexperienced purchaser to 
deal with one of these, and pay him his legiti- 
mate commission, than to do business directly 
with the owner. The real estate agent can 
often give valuable information and advice. In 
this matter, as in that of location, the impor- 
tant point is to investigate first and be sure 
of connecting with a desirable man. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE CAPITAL. OF CUBA 

The full name of the capital of Cuba is San 
Cristobal de la Habana. In 1634 a royal decree 
conferred upon the City the sounding title: 
" Llave del Nuevo Mundo y Antemural de las 
Indias Occidentales," which signifies: Key of 
the New World and Bulwark of the West In- 
dies. In emphasis, the coat of arms of the 
municipality bears a symbolic key and repre- 
sentations of the fortresses of Morro, Punta 
and Fuerza. 

Habana is one of the several towns founded 
by the governor Diego Velasquez. He placed 
it upon the south coast, where the town of Ba- 
tabano now stands. It was shortly removed 
to its present position and rapidly grew to be 
the chief centre of the Island and one of the 
most important places in the New World. The 
first century of its history was uneventful, save 
for the attacks of buccaneers, who twice sacked 

249 



250 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
it during that period. To guard against the 
danger from this source, La Fuerza, the oldest 
fortification in the City, was erected, near the 
close of the sixteenth century. Shortly after- 
wards, Philip the Second of Spain ordered the 
construction of the Punta and Morro forts, for 
the protection of the harbor, and at about the 
same time the official residence of the governor 
of the Island was transferred from Santiago 
de Cuba to Habana. 

In 1650, the population of Habana was 
hardly more than three thousand, but in the 
following two or three decades it doubled, ow- 
ing to a large immigration of Spaniards from 
Jamaica. During this period, the City rose to 
be the commercial centre of the Spanish- Amer- 
ican possessions and the principal rendezvous 
of the royal fleets that carried on the trade 
monopoly between Spain and America. The 
walls enclosing the City were commenced in 
1671 and finished thirty years later. The City 
was frequently threatened by English squad- 
rons, and actually captured in 1762. At the 
close of the Seven Years' War Habana was 
restored to Spain in exchange for the Floridas. 
The short period of the British occupation, 
during which the port was thrown open, greatly 




LA FUERZA, HABANA. 



The Capital of Cuba 251 

stimulated the trade of the City and the gen- 
eral commerce of the Island. The modern his- 
tory of Habana dates from this event. 

A map of the City at the beginning of the 
nineteenth century strikingly illustrates its 
rapid growth. Then the residences were al- 
most all intramuras, or within the walls. Large 
estancias and Jiuertas occupied ground which 
is now intersected by paved streets, and cov- 
ered with substantial buildings. Even in the 
past decade a marked change has taken place, 
amounting to complete transformation in cer- 
tain sections. The improvements have in many 
instances been at the expense of picturesque- 
ness and have entailed the loss of several his- 
toric landmarks. But the gain in sanitation 
and convenience has been great. Habana, 
which under Spanish rule had a death rate ex- 
ceeding thirty to the thousand, now boasts a 
lower mortality than that of New York. 

The first impression made upon the visitor 
is by the massive character of the architecture. 
This characteristic is more pronounced than in 
any other Latin- American city. The building 
material generally used is a conglomerate of 
marine material, which hardens on exposure to 
the air. It is hewn into great blocks and so 



252 Cuba and Her People of To-day 



used in construction. Walls are usually cov- 
ered with stucco, or plaster, and colored in a 
variety of tints. Roofs are either flat, or built 
of the old Spanish red tiles. The effect, which 
is enhanced by the presence almost everywhere 
of trees and shrubs, is pleasing in the extreme. 

In the city proper the houses are mostly two 
stories in height. A plain front is the fashion 
nowadays, but in former times the dwellings 
of the wealthy presented ornate facades and 
elaborate balconies. Large windows, — they 
are doors in appearance, — heavily grated and 
closed with lattices, give light and air. Large 
double doorways open upon the central patio. 
The houses are built close together and on a 
level with the narrow pavement. The thick 
walls and the narrow streets tend to mitigate 
the heat. In former times, when all but the 
lowest classes went about in carriages, the two- 
foot sidewalks, which receive the drippings of 
balconies, met the requirements of the popula- 
tion, but now the inconvenience of walking in 
Habana is severely felt. 

People in Habana live in the public view to 
an extent that surprises the stranger from the 
North. Passing along the street one may 
plainly see the family at meals in the dining- 



The Capital of Cuba 253 



room, or resting in the cool of the evening 
among the plants of the patio. From one flat 
roof may be witnessed the doings on the neigh- 
boring azoteas. From this it might be inferred 
that the domestic circle of the Habanero may 
be easily invaded. Such is not, however, the 
case. He is hospitable, and a genial host, but 
the stranger is not admitted to his home as 
readily as is the case with us. 

The people of Habana are fond of the out- 
door life of the parks and the cafes. In the 
evening thousands gather about the bandstand 
in Central Park, or sit at the tables of the 
hotels and restaurants upon its edge, eating ice 
cream or drinking harmless liquids. They are 
a pleasure-loving people, and this characteris- 
tic has earned for Habana the name of the 
' ' Paris of the West. ' ' There is little about the 
City, however, to remind one of the capital of 
France. The theatres are numerous and well 
patronized. The best travelling companies 
have always found it profitable to include 
Habana in their itinerary. 

The most interesting portion of Habana is 
that which formerly lay within the walls. The 
houses here have for the most part been con- 
verted to business purposes, but a few persons 



254 Cuba and Her People of To-day- 
still cling to their old homes. The old wall, 
of which very little remains, followed the line 
of what is now Montserrat Avenue. The sea- 
ward end of it commenced at the Pnerta de la 
Punta and ended at the narrowest part of the 
harbor, just east of the Arsenal. This refers 
to the interior section of the wall, which was 
continued completely round the shore from the 
points mentioned. 

To-day the neighborhood of Central Park is 
the heart of the City. Formerly, social and 
official life of the capital revolved about the 
Plaza de Armas, which is close to the water- 
front. The old-time palace of the governors, 
now the residence of the presidents, is a long, 
low building, occupying the entire west face of 
the square. The oldest church of the City was 
torn down to make room for the palace, which 
was erected in 1834, during the administration 
of Tacon. 

On the opposite side of the Plaza stands El 
Templete, a little edifice venerated by all good 
citizens of Habana. It marks the site of the 
mass which was celebrated in connection with 
the founding of the City. The building has the 
appearance of a chapel and perhaps was at 
first intended to serve the purpose of one. Its 




OBISPO STREET, HABANA. 



Th e Capital of Cuba 255 

sole contents are three historical paintings by 
Escobar. El Templete is opened only on the 
16th day of November, which is the anniversary 
of the City's birth. On that day all Habana 
walks solemnly down to the little building and 
gazes upon the pictures, one of which depicts 
the event that the temple is designed to com- 
memorate. 

" Each and every street south of the Plaza 
de Armas is interesting, in itself as it is now, 
and for details of its previous history. Here, 
at Oficios 94, lived the bishop of the diocese, 
D. Pedro Agustin Morel de Santa Cruz, who 
used to take his daily promenade up Obispo, 
and thereby gave that avenue its name (Bishop 
Street) ; it has since been rechristened Pi y 
Margall, for a Cuban patriot, but nobody heeds 
the change. On the corner of Mercaderes and 
Obrapia (Pious Act Street) is the house (its 
handsome high entrance with coat of arms 
above it, its stairways, its corridors, its quiet 
patio, retaining in decay the aristocratic bear- 
ing of better days), income from which the 
owner, D. Martin Calvo de Arrieta, willed, in 
1679, to be divided into dowries for five orphan 
girls yearly; the city is executor and in this 
capacity still launches five brides per annum 



256 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

so dowered by Don Martin. Lamparilla is the 
* Little Lamp Street ' (in commemoration of a 
light a devotee of All Souls' kept burning in 
the corner of this and Habana in years when 
there was no public illumination). Here, too, 
on the corner of Mercaderes and Amagura, is 
' The Corner of the Green Cross.' The cross 
is there, and it is green; no painter, furbish- 
ing up the house it marks, would venture to 
give it any other color, though why it should 
be green nobody knows. It was one of the sta- 
tions when, before religious processions were 
prohibited in the streets, good Catholics used 
to travel the Via Crucis along Amargua (Bit- 
terness) Street from Cristo Plaza at its head 
to San Francisco Convent at the other end. 
In the house walls along the way one can dis- 
tinguish yet where other stations were. Damas 
is Ladies Street, because of the number of 
pretty women who at one time made its bal- 
conies attractive. Inquisidor was so called be- 
cause a Commissary of the Inquisition once 
resided in a house facing upon it, which now 
the Spanish legation owns and occupies. Re- 
fugio (Refuge) got its name because once Gen- 
eral Rocafort was caught in a storm and found 
refuge in the house of a widow named Mendez, 



The Capital of Cuba 257 

who lived there. Here, and in other districts 
throughout town, not only the streets had 
names — Empedrado, because it was the first 
paved; Tejadillo (Little Tile), because a house 
upon it was the first to have a tiled roof; 
Blanco (Target), because the artillery school 
practised there when it was well outside the 
walled city, — but many corners and crossings 
had their own particular titles. The corner of 
Habana and Empedrado was called ' the Cor- 
ner of the Little Lamp,' because in a tobacco 
shop there shone steadily the only street light 
of the district. The corner of Compostela and 
Jesus Maria was ' Snake Corner,' because of 
the picture of a serpent painted on a house wall 
there. Sol and Aguacate was ' Sun Corner,' 
for a similar reason, and the facade decoration 
there probably named the whole of Sol (Sun) 
Street. The block on Amargura between Com- 
postela and Villegas was known as the ' Square 
of Pious Women,' because two very religious 
ladies lived near, and because, too, of the par- 
ticular station of the cross located on Amar- 
gura at this point. ' ' 1 

Just off the Plaza de Armas is la Fuerza, 
that quaint fortress constructed by the order 
i Cuba, by I. A. Wright, New York, 1910. 



258 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

of De Soto in 1538. This, which is probably 
the oldest building of any kind in the City, 
attracts the greatest amount of attention from 
visitors. For a long period the fort was the 
official residence of the governors of the Island, 
who embellished its interior with handsome 
furniture, statuary and paintings. As the City 
grew and more formidable works usurped the 
protective office which La Fuerza had so capa- 
bly filled in earlier days, the building was util- 
ized as barracks, storehouse and even jail. The 
moat was filled in and a high wall raised in its 
place. During the American occupation the 
fortress was restored to something like its 
original form by the replacement of the moat 
and drawbridge and the restoration of the bas- 
tions. At present the building is used as a 
depository for the national archives. 

An excellent view of the harbor may be had 
from the tower of La Fuerza. The bell in this 
old tower bears the date 1706. Formerly it 
sounded the hours throughout the day and 
night, and was used to give the alarm in time 
of danger. The guns of the fort have repelled 
more than one attack, and so highly was the 
importance of La Fuerza held in the infant 
period of the colony, that a royal decree re- 



The Capital of Cuba 259 

quired all war vessels entering the harbor to 
salute the fortification. La Fuerza failed, 
however, to stop the French pirate De Sores, 
who captured and partially destroyed it, be- 
fore firing and sacking the City. 

The Cathedral, a short stone's throw from 
La Fuerza, is not the largest, nor the most 
beautiful, nor even the oldest church in Ha- 
bana, but it has a special interest for the tour- 
ist because the bones of Christopher Columbus 
reposed there until the Spaniards evacuated 
Cuba, when they carried the relic with them 
and deposited it in the Cathedral of Seville. 

The Cathedral was erected close to the water- 
front, in what was then the centre of the City. 
Originally a Jesuit convent, the building was 
remodelled and devoted to its present purpose 
in 1789. 

In an official map of Habana published in 
1800, there are thirty-two notations referring 
to the most important points and buildings of 
the City. Of these references, seventeen apply 
to religious institutions. Whilst far from main- 
taining the same proportion, the ecclesiastical 
structures are very numerous. The oldest of 
these is the Convent of San Francisco, which 
stands upon the waterfront, adjoining the plaza 



260 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

of the same name. The Dominican Convent, 
near by, is almost as aged; both were com- 
pleted before the close of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. The latter has for some years past been 
occupied by business offices and storerooms. 
These are but a few of the most interesting 
among at least a score of churches and con- 
vents within the limits of the walled portion of 
the City. 

The fortifications of Habana have perhaps 
been more extensively described than any other 
buildings of the City. They are not, however, 
very remarkable, nor, with a few exceptions, 
are there historic incidents of unusual interest 
associated with them. La Punta is, of course, 
the most prominent object on the Malecon and 
constantly within the view of the guest at the 
Miramar Hotel. With the exception of the 
heroic defence against the attack of the British, 
Morro Castle can not boast of any romantic 
episode in its history. Atares Castle, at the 
extreme southern end of the City, was the 
scene of the confinement and death of Colonel 
Crittenden and his companions. It has a cham- 
ber of horrors, containing an assortment of in- 
struments of torture, from which visitors de- 
rive novel entertainment. 



The Capital of Cuba 261 

The two busiest, and perhaps best known, 
streets of Habana are O'Reilly and Obispo, 
running from the sea wall, through the Plaza 
de Armas, to Central Park, where they meet 
the Prado at right angles. The two streets 
in question might be compared to the shopping 
section of Broadway, and the Prado to Fifth 
Avenue. This splendid boulevard was shorn 
of much of its glory by the cyclone which a few 
years ago wrecked the magnificent laurels that 
lined its central promenade. The finest resi- 
dences of Habana are upon the Prado, but 
boarding houses, and even business establish- 
ments, are beginning to invade the street. It 
is still a fashionable promenade and drive, al- 
though it no longer has the exclusive attrac- 
tion that it once enjoyed. 

Habana is famous for its parks, chief of 
which is the Parque Central. The surrounding 
blocks are occupied by hotels, clubs, cafes, the- 
atres, and restaurants. When, on a concert 
night, the lights of these are added to the elec- 
tric illumination of the park, the scene is a 
striking one. 

The installation of a good electric car system 
has made suburban life popular, and a large 
proportion of the population of Habana now 



262 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

enjoy breathing space and elbow room such as 
the former inhabitants never dreamed of. The 
newest and most attractive of the residence 
suburbs is Vedado by the sea. Here are hand- 
some homes facing broad avenues and standing 
in gardens of beautiful plants and flowers. 
The greater number of resident Americans live 
out at Vedado. 

The modern streets beyond the old walls are 
laid out on liberal lines and with regularity. 
Habana, which used to be one of the most filthy 
cities on the earth, can now boast with justice 
of being among the cleanest centres in the 
Americas. It has a good water supply and is 
efficiently policed. One of the effects of this 
improvement has been to attract American 
tourists in constantly increasing numbers, until 
Habana has taken a prominent place among 
our winter resorts. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PBOVINCES OF CUBA. 

The extensive railroad system of Cuba 
makes it possible to reach almost any part of 
the Island with little trouble. The Provinces 
of Habana and Matanzas, in particular, are 
completely covered by the ramifications of the 
United Railways of Habana. The majority of 
tourists confine their excursions from Habana 
to points which may be reached by this line. 
There are, however, on the Cuba railroad many 
cities and districts that will well repay a visit, 
whether the object be merely sightseeing, or a 
study of the resources and development of the 
country. 

It is a short run from the capital to Hoyo 
Colorado, the route traversing a rich tobacco 
district and the centre of the pineapple culture. 
Ten miles out, the line reaches the Playa of 
Marianao, Habana 's fashionable bathing resort 
and the headquarters of the yacht club. Mari- 

263 



264 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

anao is to Habana what Waikiki Beach is to 
Honolulu. 

The trip to Guines is beginning to rival in 
popularity with tourists the excursion to the 
famous caves of Bellamar. The railroad is one 
of the oldest in the world, having been opened 
to traffic in 1837. The picturesque little town 
occupies a beautiful situation in an extensive 
valley, almost entirely surrounded by moun- 
tains. It is in the centre of a rich sugar dis- 
trict, but the lands in the immediate vicinity 
are devoted to truck farming, in which a num- 
ber of Americans are engaged with marked 
success. Near by is the village of Madruga, 
famed long ago for the curative quality of its 
sulphur baths and mineral waters. Centuries 
ago, solitary invalids performed the tedious 
journey to the spot and sojourned in the peas- 
ants' huts, whilst undergoing the cure. Now- 
adays Madruga is much frequented and has 
comfortable hotels, as well as several well- 
appointed bathing establishments. 

The most recent railroad to be opened in 
Cuba is the Habana Central, running from the 
capital to the great Providencia Sugar Mill, 
situated thirty-five miles to the southwest. This 
line has the distinction of being operated en- 



The Provinces of Cuba 265 

tirely by electricity. Thousands of tourists last 
year visited the plantation and factory at the 
terminus of the road. As the crop season is 
from the beginning of December to the first or 
second week of May it coincides with the tour- 
ist season, and thus visitors have an exception- 
ally good opportunity to see one of the most 
up-to-date mills of Cuba in full operation, with 
little trouble and in a few hours ' time. 

Batabano, situated on the coast almost di- 
rectly to the south of Habana, is an unattract- 
ive place, but a port of considerable impor- 
tance. An extensive sponge industry is carried 
on in the neighboring waters and great num- 
bers of turtles are shipped from here to the 
United States. 

Batabano is the port from which the traveller 
takes steamer to the Isle of Pines. The value 
and importance of the Isle of Pines have only 
been realized in recent years. It was at one 
time a rendezvous of pirates and Henry Mor- 
gan once planned to assemble his men there 
and make a raid upon Habana by way of Bata- 
bano. In the hands of Spain the Isle was 
turned to account only to the extent of working 
its marble quarries. After the last war of in- 
dependence an American colony settled there 



266 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

and has since become numerous and prosper- 
ous. The Island is now practically owned by 
citizens of the United States, who represent a 
majority of the population. Several land com- 
panies have been in operation for the past ten 
years, and have established many thriving 
towns and settlements. The soil of the island 
is adapted to all kinds of farming and the cli- 
mate has been famous for its salubrity during 
the past hundred years. 

Pinar del Eio is best known for the posses- 
sion of the finest tobacco lands in the world. 
Tobacco is, however, by no means the only in- 
dustry of the Province. Along its north coast 
are extensive sugar lands and a number of 
large mills; also numerous plantations owned 
by Americans and Canadians. The Province 
is singularly deficient in harbors. The best of 
the few which it has is Bahia Honda. A coal- 
ing station in this bay was ceded to the United 
States by Cuba, but it has not been used as 
yet. 

The most pronounced physical feature of the 
Province is the group, rather than range, of 
mountains called the Organo. Their verdant 
sides form the background of the view from 
almost every point'. The soil in the valleys 



The Provinces of Cuba 267 

between the numerous spurs is exceedingly fer- 
tile. These lands were peaceably tilled through 
all the disturbances previous to the last war, 
but then Maceo carried the conflict into the far 
west, and Pinar del Rio will not recover from 
its effects for many a year to come. On the 
north and on the south the Organo Mountains 
slope down to undulating plains. That on the 
southern side is the more extensive and in it 
the celebrated Vuelta Abajo tobacco district 
lies. 

For two centuries the Spaniards looked upon 
the Province of Matanzas as a hotbed of re- 
bellion. The Cubans style it " El Suelo natal 
de Independencia," meaning the birthplace of 
independence. Though, after Habana, the 
smallest of the provinces of Cuba, it is one of 
the richest sections of the country. In the be- 
ginning it was a great cattle grazing region, 
but long since its fertile plains were exten- 
sively planted with sugar-cane. Before the 
War there were five hundred stock farms in the 
Province, nearly as many sugar estates, and 
at least three thousand plantations of various 
other kinds. During the rebellion all this in- 
dustrial wealth was practically destroyed. Its 
rich lands insured a revival, however, and the 



268 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

Province has again taken its place in the fore- 
front of sugar-producing sections of Cuba. 

The favorite excursion of visitors to Habana 
is to the Valley of the Yumuri, which Humboldt 
characterized as the " loveliest valley in the 
world." It has been described by many pens, 
as have the caverns of Bellamar, with their 
numerous chambers filled with stalactite and 
stalagmite crystals. 

The City of Matanzas is one of the most at- 
tractive in Cuba. It contains several beautiful 
parks and boulevards and, in the newest por- 
tion, some of the finest residences in the Is- 
land. 

Not far from Matanzas is Cardenas, a cen- 
tre of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. 
It ranks third among the sugar shipping ports 
of Cuba, handling most of the output of the 
Province. Cardenas is beautifully situated and 
enjoys a delightful climate. It is sometimes 
spoken of as an " American city," on account 
of the number of persons of that nationality 
resident there. Cardenas appears to be justi- 
fied in its boast that it is the most progressive 
city in Cuba. No more than seventy years old, 
it is far in advance of every other city of its 
size in the matter of public utilities, whilst its 



The Provinces of Cuba 269 

buildings are as handsome and substantial as 
any to be found outside of Habana. The har- 
bor of Cardenas will be remembered as the 
scene of the tragedy in which the little torpedo 
boat " Winslow " and Ensign Bagley figured. 

Although sugar-cane is by far the chief prod- 
uct of Santa Clara Province, its tobacco and 
cattle industries are of considerable impor- 
tance. There is some ground for the belief that 
it possesses latent mineral resources of great 
value. G-old and silver have been found in the 
Province, and the output of asphalt has reached 
as much as ten thousand tons in a year. 
. The City of Santa Clara is situated at a 
considerable elevation above sea level. It is 
well laid out, with unusually wide streets, con- 
sidering the age of the town, which was founded 
in the seventeenth century. Santa Clara has 
long been noted for its healthfulness and its 
exceptionally beautiful women. Although the 
capital of the Province, its population of some- 
what less than seventeen thousand is only about 
half that of Cienfuegos. 

Cienfuegos, on the south coast, has one of the 
peculiar pouch-like harbors found on several 
points of the Cuban shore. Centuries ago Las 
Casas pronounced this harbor to be the most 



270 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

magnificent in the world, an opinion which 
many naval experts of to-day support. The 
City, which is comparatively modern, occupies 
a beautiful site in the lap of a group of hills, 
backed by rugged mountains. It is one of the 
most progressive centres of Cuba, with an ex- 
tensive and constantly growing business. 

Trinidad is, after Baracoa, the oldest city of 
Cuba. It was founded by Velasquez in 1514. 
It is situated upon the side of a mountain, at 
an elevation of nearly one thousand feet. Trin- 
idad was at one time a port of considerably 
more importance than it is at present. The 
locality seems to possess some peculiar health- 
giving properties, for the town has long held 
the reputation of being the most healthful in 
the Island and is resorted to by sufferers from 
nervous and pulmonary complaints. 

The Province of Camaguey, or Puerto Prin- 
cipe, as it was called under Spanish dominion, 
is very rich in natural resources, but far less 
developed than the divisions to the west of it. 
This, because cattle raising was almost its sole 
industry until recent years, and because it has 
only lately enjoyed the advantage of railroad 
communication. Its area is broken by moun- 
tains, between which lie deep valleys and broad 



The Provinces of Cuba 271 

mesas. Extensive forests occupy the former, 
whilst the latter are covered with nutritious 
grasses, upon which cattle thrive. Before the 
War at least half a million steers grazed upon 
these table-lands, and fifty thousand head a 
year were shipped to the Habana market. 
There is every promise of a great revival for 
this industry. Only a small proportion of the 
lands of this Province are cultivated, and those 
are devoted mainly to the production of to- 
bacco and sugar. 

The City of Camaguey is a picturesque old 
place, laid out on a very irregular plan, or 
rather on no plan at all. Its buildings are 
quaint and suggestive of their great age, many 
of them having stood for two or more centuries. 
The City is the outgrowth of one of the earliest 
settlements in the Island. Previous to the in- 
ception of the railroad era it ranked next to 
Habana in population, but gradually fell into 
fifth place, thereafter. In late years it has had 
a revival, due to the extension eastward of the 
railway system. The Hotel Camaguey, con- 
verted from a barrack into a delightful hos- 
telry of a unique character, has become famous 
under the management of the railroad. There 
is probably no other place in Cuba affording 



272 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

such restful conditions and charming surround- 
ings. 

In the vicinity are a number of cattle ranches 
conducted by Americans. The lands adjacent 
to the railroad are, however, becoming too val- 
uable to be used as grazing grounds. Their 
soil is extremely rich and they will soon be 
devoted to the cultivation of fruit, tobacco, and 
other high-priced crops. There are already 
several colonies in the Province, including ' ' La 
Gloria," one of the oldest and most prosperous 
American settlements. 

The Province of Oriente, formerly called 
Santiago de Cuba, is the section of Cuba in 
which the greatest future development is to be 
looked for. This development will be fortu- 
nately along greatly diversified lines. Its 
mountain regions are extremely rich in min- 
erals and virgin forests of hardwoods. Its 
elevated valleys contain the best soil and have 
the most suitable climate for the culture of 
coffee. On its lower levels fruits of various 
kinds grow in abundance and of good quality, 
whilst its coast lands are admirably adapted 
to the production of sugar-cane. The Valley 
of Guantanamo contains some of the largest 
and most prosperous sugar plantations in the 



The Provinces of Cuba 273 

Island. A busy mining district lies to the west, 
from which a large output of iron ore is pro- 
duced annually. 

The City of Santiago de Cuba, situated 
among hills at the head of one of the most 
remarkable harbors in the world, has a pop- 
ulation of about fifty thousand. Behind the 
City lies the great plateau of Oriente, com- 
posed of stretches of the richest agricultural 
land, with here and there a range of hills, or 
a belt of forest. This section must in time 
become the seat of an extensive agricultural 
development. 

Manzanillo is situated on the coast and at 
the edge of a great level plain of extraordinary 
fertility. Years ago a railroad was started 
from this point to Bayamo, but after a few 
miles had been laid, construction was stopped, 
for some reason which is not easy to surmise. 
There is the greatest need for such means of 
communication, and few railroad projects in 
Cuba could be as promising. The region be- 
tween Manzanillo and Bayamo contains soil as 
rich as any to be found in Cuba, and there is 
no doubt but that the construction of a railroad 
would be followed by a thorough development 
of the section through which it would pass. 



274 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

The Nipe Bay district is the seat of the 
greatest progress being made to-day in Cuba, 
a progress typical of the development that has 
in different parts of the Island followed the 
introduction of American capital and the ap- 
plication of American business methods. The 
Bay itself is equalled by few in the world. It 
is completely sheltered, with a narrow en- 
trance, a depth of fifteen miles, and a width of 
about ten. The mountains sweep southward at 
Nipe Bay, and thence far to the west extends 
a broad plain of fertile land. On the northwest 
side of the Bay is the model town of Antilla, 
a creation of the Cuba Railroad, with which it 
is connected by a branch line. Antilla has a 
rapidly growing trade and regular steamship 
connections with the United States and Ja- 
maica. All the country round about is in cul- 
tivation. Along the banks of the Mayari River 
tobacco is grown, and has been for centuries. 
Its quality is indifferent, but efforts are being 
made, with every promise of success, to im- 
prove it. 

The development of this section is due to five 
great corporations, operating with American 
money, except for the last named, which is 
mainly supported by British capital. These 



The Provinces of Cuba 275 

corporations are the United Fruit Company, 
the Nipe Bay Company, the Spanish- American 
Iron Company, the Dumois-Nipe Company, 
and the Cuba Railroad Company. 

The United Fruit Company's property ex- 
tends for more than twenty miles between Du- 
mois and Banes, its shipping point. The plan- 
tation, which was formerly devoted to bananas, 
is now occupied by sugar-cane to the extent of 
25,000 acres. The product is consumed by the 
Central Boston, one of the largest mills in 
Cuba. The extent of the Fruit Company's 
property here is probably nearly 100,000 acres. 
Five thousand head of stock and the numer- 
ous buildings require a large proportion of 
it. 

The Cuba Railroad's interest is in the port 
of Antilla, where it has established a flourish- 
ing little town, and built extensive docks and 
warehouses. These are much in excess of pres- 
ent needs, but the railroad management is con- 
fident that this will become the principal ship- 
ping point of the eastern end of the Island, 
a conclusion that seems to be founded on logical 
grounds. 

At Preston, the Nipe Bay Company, a cor- 
poration controlled by the United Fruit Com- 



276 Cuba and Her People of To-day 

pany, operates a sugar plantation considerably 
more than one hundred thousand acres in area, 
and what is claimed to be the most complete 
and up-to-date mill in existence. This factory 
is in course of enlargement, so that it will con- 
sume five thousand tons of cane daily. The 
plantation, mill, and village of Preston are 
more fully described in the chapter on " Cuba's 
Sugar Industry.' ' 

The Dumois-Nipe Company owns about fifty 
thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Saetia. 
This is devoted to various products. The larg- 
est area, about one thousand acres, is planted 
in sugar-cane, somewhat more than half as 
much land in bananas, and a considerable acre- 
age in pineapples. Oranges and grape-fruit 
occupy several hundred acres. 

The Spanish- American Iron Company, which 
controls extensive mining properties at Dai- 
quiri and elsewhere in the Province, has its 
latest and most extensive operation at Felton 
in the Nipe Bay district. The ore deposit here 
is more than twenty miles in length and from 
ten to sixteen in breadth. In depth the work- 
ings average about twenty feet. Steam shovels 
are employed in taking the material out. In 
its ultimate form the ore is shipped in small 



The Provinces of Cuba 277 

pellets upon the Company's steamers, which 
dock in immediate contact with the plant. 

Nothing could be surer than the future great 
development of Oriente, with a continuance of 
the present trend. American capital is con- 
stantly looking for new investments in the 
Province. Its mineral deposits and its fertile 
valleys will be exploited by Americans. The 
American influence is already prominent in 
every part of it. American methods prevail in 
all its industries and American money is the 
universal currency. Oriente will advance by 
leaps and bounds into the position of the most 
productive province in Cuba. 



THE END. 



APPENDICES 



APPENDICES 

i 

COMMEECIAL CONVENTION" BETWEEN THE UNITED 
STATES AND CUBA 

Signed at Havana, December 11, 1902. 

Ratification with amendments advised by the 
Senate March 19, 1903. 

Ratified by the President, March 30, 1903. 

Ratified by Cuba, March 30, 1903. 

Ratifications exchanged at Washington, 
March 31, 1903. 

Proclaimed, December 17, 1903. 

By the Peesident of the United States of 
America 

A Proclamation 

Whereas a Convention between the United 
States of America and the Kepnblic of Cuba to 
facilitate their commercial intercourse by im- 
proving the conditions of trade between the two 

281 



282 Appendices 

countries, was concluded and signed by their 
respective plenipotentiaries at the City of Ha- 
vana on the eleventh day of December, 1902, 
the original of which Convention, being in the 
English and Spanish languages, is, as amended 
by the Senate of the United States, word for 
word as follows: 

The President of the United States of Amer- 
ica and the President of the Eepublic of Cuba, 
animated by the desire to strengthen the bonds 
of friendship between the two countries, and to 
facilitate their commercial intercourse by im- 
proving the conditions of trade between them, 
have resolved to enter into a convention for 
that purpose, and have appointed their respect- 
ive Plenipotentiaries, to wit : — 

The President of the United States of Amer- 
ica, the Honorable General Tasker H. Bliss ; 

The President of the Eepublic of Cuba, the 
Honorable Carlos de Zaldo y Beurmann, Sec- 
retary of State and Justice, and the Honorable 
Jose M. Garcia y Montes, Secretary of the 
Treasury ; 

who, after an exchange of their full powers 
found to be in good and due form, have, in con- 
sideration of and in compensation for the re- 
spective concessions and engagements made by 



Appendices 283 

each to the other as hereinafter recited, agreed 
and do hereby agree upon the following Arti- 
cles for the regulation and government of their 
reciprocal trade, namely: — 

Article I 

During the term of this convention, all arti- 
cles of merchandise being the product of the 
soil or industry of the United States which are 
now imported into the Republic of Cuba free 
of duty, and all articles of merchandise being 
the product of the soil or industry of the Re- 
public of Cuba which are now imported into the 
United States free of duty, shall continue to be 
so admitted by the respective countries free of 
duty. 

Article II 

During the term of this convention, all arti- 
cles of merchandise not included in the fore- 
going Article I and being the product of the 
soil or industry of the Republic of Cuba im- 
ported into the United States shall be admitted 
at a reduction of twenty per centum of the rates 
of duty thereon as provided by the Tariff Act 
of the United States approved July 24, 1897, 



284 Appendices 

or as may be provided by any tariff law of the 
United States subsequently enacted. 

Article III 



During the term of this convention, all arti- 
cles of merchandise not included in the forego- 
ing Article I and not hereinafter enumerated, 
being the product of the soil or industry of the 
United States, imported into the Republic of 
Cuba shall be admitted at a reduction of twenty 
per centum of the rates of duty thereon as now 
provided or as may hereafter be provided in 
the Customs Tariff of said Republic of Cuba. 

Article IV 

During the term of this convention, the fol- 
lowing articles of merchandise as enumerated 
and described in the existing Customs Tariff 
of the Republic of Cuba, being the product of 
the soil or industry of the United States im- 
ported into Cuba shall be admitted at the fol- 
lowing respective reductions of the rates of 
duty thereon as now provided or as may here- 
after be provided in the Customs Tariff of the 
Republic of Cuba: — 



Appendices 285 

Schedule A 

To be admitted at a reduction of twenty five 
(25) per centum: 

Machinery and apparatus of copper or its 
alloys or machines and apparatus in which cop- 
per or its alloys enter as the component of chief 
value; cast iron, wrought iron and steel, and 
manufactures thereof; articles of crystal and 
glass, except window glass; ships and water 
borne vessels of all kinds, of iron or steel; 
whiskies and brandies; fish, salted, pickled, 
smoked or marinated; fish or shell-fish, pre- 
served in oil or otherwise in tins; articles of 
pottery or earthenware now classified under 
Paragraphs 21 and 22 of the Customs Tariff 
of the Eepublic of Cuba. 

Schedule B 

To be admitted at a reduction of thirty (30) 
per eentum: 

Butter ; flour of wheat ; corn ; flour of corn 
or corn meal; chemical and pharmaceutical 
products and simple drugs; malt liquors in 
bottles; non-alcoholic beverages; cider; min- 
eral waters; colors and dyes; window glass; 
complete or partly made up articles of hemp, 



286 Appendices 

flax, pita, jute, kenequen, ramie, and other veg- 
etable fibres now classified under the para- 
graphs of Group 2, Class V, of the Customs 
Tariff of the Republic of Cuba ; musical instru- 
ments ; writing and printing paper, except for 
newspapers ; cotton and manufactures thereof, 
except knitted goods (see Schedule C) ; all ar- 
ticles of cutlery; boots, shoes and slippers, 
now classified under Paragraphs 197 and 198 
of the Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba ; 
gold and silver plated ware; drawings, photo- 
graphs, engravings, lithographs, cromolitho- 
graphs, oleographs, etc., printed from stone, 
zinc, aluminium, or other material, used as 
labels, flaps, bands and wrappers for tobacco 
or other purposes, and all the other papers 
(except paper for cigarettes, and excepting 
maps and charts), pasteboard and manufac- 
tures thereof, now .classified under Paragraphs 
157 to 164 inclusive of the Customs Tariff of 
the Republic of Cuba; common or ordinary 
soaps, now classified under Paragraph 105, let- 
ters " A " and " B," of the Customs Tariff 
of the Republic of Cuba; vegetables, pickled 
or preserved in any manner ; all wines, except 
those now classified under Paragraph 279 (a) 
of the Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba. 



Appendices 287 

Schedule C 

To be admitted at a reduction of forty (40) 
per centum : 

Manufactures of cotton, knitted, and all 
manufactures of cotton not included in the 
preceding schedules; cheese; fruits, pre- 
served; paper pulp; perfumery and essences; 
articles of pottery and earthenware now classi- 
fied under Paragraph 20 of the Customs Tariff 
of the Republic of Cuba; porcelain; soaps, 
other than common, now classified under Para- 
graph 105 of the Customs Tariff of the Repub- 
lic of Cuba ; umbrellas and parasols ; dextrine 
and glucose ; watches ; wool and manufactures 
thereof; silk and manufactures thereof; rice, 
cattle. 

Aeticle V 

It is understood and agreed that the laws and 
regulations adopted, or that may be adopted, 
by the United States and by the Republic of 
Cuba, to protect their revenues and prevent 
fraud in the declarations and proofs that the 
articles of merchandise to which this conven- 
tion may apply are the product or manufacture 
of the United States and the Republic of Cuba, 
respectively, shall not impose any additional 



288 Appendices 

charge or fees therefor on the articles im- 
ported, excepting the consular fees established, 
or which may be established, by either of the 
two countries for issuing shipping documents, 
which fees shall not be higher than those 
charged on the shipments of similar merchan- 
dise from any other nation whatsoever. 

Article VI 

It is agreed that the tobacco, in any form, of 
the United States or of any of its insular pos- 
sessions, shall not enjoy the benefit of any con- 
cession or rebate of duty when imported into 
the Eepublic of Cuba. 

Article VII 

It is agreed that similar articles of both 
countries shall receive equal treatment on their 
importation into the ports of the United States 
and of the Eepublic of Cuba, respectively. 

Article VIII 

The rates of duty herein granted by the 
United States to the Republic of Cuba are and 
shall continue during the term of this conven- 
tion preferential in respect to all like imports 
from other countries, and, in return for said 



Appendices 289 

preferential rates of duty granted to the Re- 
public of Cuba by the United States, it is 
agreed that the concession herein granted on 
the part of the said Republic of Cuba to the 
products of the United States shall likewise be, 
and shall continue, during the term of this con- 
vention, preferential in respect to all like im- 
ports from other countries. Provided, That 
while this convention is in force, no sugar 
imported from the Republic of Cuba, and being 
the product of the soil or industry of the Re- 
public of Cuba, shall be admitted into the 
United States at a reduction of duty greater 
than twenty per centum of the rates of duty 
thereon as provided by the tariff act of the 
United States approved July 24, 1897, and no 
sugar, the product of any other foreign coun- 
try, shall be admitted by treaty or convention 
into the United States, while this convention is 
in force, at a lower rate of duty than that pro- 
vided by the tariff act of the United States 
approved July 24, 1897. 

Article IX 

In order to maintain the mutual advantages 
granted in the present convention by the 
United States to the Republic of Cuba and by 



290 Appendices 

the Republic of Cuba to the United States, it 
is understood and agreed that any tax or 
charge that may be imposed by the national 
or local authorities of either of the two coun- 
tries upon the articles of merchandise em- 
braced in the provisions of this convention, 
subsequent to importation and prior to their 
entering into consumption in the respective 
countries, shall be imposed and collected with- 
out discrimination upon like articles whence- 
soever imported. 

Aeticle X 

It is hereby understood and agreed that in 
case of changes in the tariff of either country 
which deprive the other of the advantage which 
is represented by the percentages herein agreed 
upon, on the actual rates of the tariffs now 
in force, the country so deprived of this pro- 
tection reserves the right to terminate its obli- 
gations under this convention after six months ' 
notice to the other of its intention to arrest the 
operations thereof. 

And it is further understood and agreed that 
if, at any time during the term of this conven- 
tion, after the expiration of the first year, the 
protection herein granted to the products and 



Appendices 291 

manufactures of the United States on the basis 
of the actual rates of the tariff of the Republic 
of Cuba now in force, should appear to the 
government of the said Republic to be excess- 
ive in view of a new tariff law that may be 
adopted by it after this convention becomes 
operative, then the said Republic of Cuba may 
reopen negotiations with a view to securing 
modifications as may appear proper to both 
contracting parties. 

Article XI 
The present convention shall be ratified by 
the appropriate authorities of the respective 
countries, and the ratifications shall be ex- 
changed at Washington, District of Columbia, 
United States of America, as soon as may be 
before the thirty-first day of January, 1903, 
and the convention shall go into effect on the 
tenth day after the exchange of ratifications, 
and shall continue in force for the term of five 
(5) years from date of going into effect, and 
from year to year thereafter until the expira- 
tion of one year from the day when either of 
the contracting parties shall give notice to the 
other of its intention to terminate the same. 

This convention shall not take effect until 



292 Appendices 

the same shall have been approved by the Con- 
gress. 

In witness whereof we, the respective Pleni- 
potentiaries, have signed the same in duplicate, 
in English and Spanish, and have affixed our 
respective seals, at Havana, Cuba, this elev- 
enth day of December, in the year one thou- 
sand nine hundred and two. 

Tasker H. Bliss [seal.] 

Carlos de Zaldo [seal.] 

Jose M. Garcia Montes [seal.] 

And whereas by the terms of the said Con- 
vention it is provided that the ratifications 
thereof should be exchanged at the City of 
"Washington as soon as may be before the 
thirty-first day of January, 1903, which period 
was by a Supplementary Convention signed 
by the respective plenipotentiaries of the two 
countries on January 26, 1903, extended to the 
thirty-first day of March, 1903; 

And whereas the said Convention of Decem- 
ber 11, 1902, as amended by the Senate of the 
United States, and the said Supplementary 
Convention of January 26, 1903, have been 
duly ratified on both parts and the ratifications 
of the two Governments were exchanged in the 



Appendices 293 

City of Washington on the thirty-first day of 
March, 1903; 

And whereas by its resolution of March 19, 
1903, the Senate of the United States added at 
the end of Article XI of the said Convention of 
December 11, 1902, the following amendment: 

" This Convention shall not take effect nntil 
the same shall have been approved by the Con- 
gress "; 

And whereas the Congress gave its approval 
to the said Convention by an Act approved 
December 17, 1903, entitled ' ' An Act To carry 
into effect a convention between the United 
States and the Republic of Cuba, signed on the 
eleventh day of December, in the year nineteen 
hundred and two, ' ' which Act is word for word 
as follows : 

" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
Representatives of the United States of Amer- 
ica in Congress assembled, That whenever the 
President of the United States shall receive 
satisfactory evidence that the Republic of 
Cuba has made provision to give full effect to 
the Articles of the convention between the 
United States and the Republic of Cuba, signed 
on the eleventh day of December, in the year 
nineteen hundred and two, he is hereby author- 



294 Appendices 

ized to issue his proclamation declaring that 
he has received such evidence, and thereupon 
on the tenth day after exchange of ratifications 
of such convention between the United States 
and the Eepublic of Cuba, and so long as the 
said convention shall remain in force, all arti- 
cles of merchandise being the product of the 
soil or industry of the Republic of Cuba, which 
are now imported into the United States free 
of duty, shall continue to be so admitted free 
of duty, and all other articles of merchandise 
being the product of the soil or industry of 
the Eepublic of Cuba imported into the United 
States shall be admitted at a reduction of 
twenty per centum of the rates of duty thereon, 
as provided by the tariff Act of the United 
States, approved July twenty-fourth, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven, or as may be pro- 
vided by any tariff law of the United States 
subsequently enacted. The rates of duty 
herein granted by the United States to the 
Republic of Cuba are and shall continue dur- 
ing the term of said convention preferential in 
respect to all like imports from other coun- 
tries : Provided, That while said convention is 
in force no sugar imported from the Republic 
of Cuba, and being the product of the soil or 



Appendices 295 

industry of the Republic of Cuba, shall be ad- 
mitted into the United States at a reduction 
of duty greater than twenty per centum of the 
rates of duty thereon, as provided by the tariff 
Act of the United States, approved July 
twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven, and no sugar the product of any other 
foreign country shall be admitted by treaty or 
convention into the United States while this 
convention is in force at a lower rate of duty 
than that provided by the tariff Act of the 
United States approved July twenty-fourth, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven: And pro- 
vided further, That nothing herein contained 
shall be held or construed as an admission on 
the part of the House of Representatives that 
customs duties can be charged otherwise than 
by an Act of Congress, originating in said 
House. 

" Sec. 2. That so long as said convention 
shall remain in force, the laws and regulations 
adopted, or that may be adopted by the United 
States to protect the revenues and prevent 
fraud in the declarations and proofs, that the 
articles of merchandise to which said conven- 
tion may apply are the product or manufacture 
of the Republic of Cuba, shall not impose any 



296 Appendices 

additional charge or fees therefor on the arti- 
cles imported, excepting the consular fees es- 
tablished, or which may be established, by the 
United States for issuing shipping documents, 
which fees shall not be higher than those 
charged on the shipments of similar merchan- 
dise from any other nation whatsoever; that 
articles of the Republic of Cuba shall receive, 
on their importation into the ports of the 
United States, treatment equal to that which 
similar articles of the United States shall re- 
ceive on their importation into the ports of 
the Republic of Cuba; that any tax or charge 
that may be imposed by the national or local 
authorities of the United States upon the arti- 
cles of merchandise of the Republic of Cuba, 
embraced in the provisions of said convention, 
subsequent to importation and prior to their 
entering into consumption into the United 
States, shall be imposed and collected without 
discrimination upon like articles whencesoever 
imported. ' ' 

And whereas satisfactory evidence has been 
received by the President of the United States 
that the Republic of Cuba has made provision 
to give full effect to the articles of the said 
convention ; 



Appendices 297 

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore 
Roosevelt, President of the United States of 
America, in conformity with the said Act of 
Congress, do hereby declare and proclaim the 
said Convention, as amended by the Senate of 
the United States, to be in effect on the 
tenth day from the date of this my proclama- 
tion. 

Wherefore I have caused the said Conven- 
tion, as amended by the Senate of the United 
States, to be made public to the end that the 
same and every clause thereof, as amended, 
may be observed and fulfilled with good faith 
by the United States and the citizens thereof. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 
my hand and caused the Seal of the United 
States of America to be affixed. 

Done at the City of "Washington, this 17th 

day of December in the year of our Lord one 

thousand nine hundred and three 

[seal] and of the Independence of the 

United States the one hundred and 

twenty-eighth. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
By the President: 
John Hay 

Secretary of State. 



298 Appendices 

The Secretary of State is officially advised 
by a note from the Minister of Cuba at Wash- 
ington, dated December 18, 1903, that by proc- 
lamation of the President of Cuba on Decem- 
ber 17, 1903, the reciprocal commercial con- 
vention between the United States and Cuba, 
signed December 11, 1902, is to go into effect 
in Cuba on the same day as in the United 
States. 

Department of State, 

Washington, December 23, 1903. 



Appendices 299 



n 

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA 

Embodying the provisions defining the fu- 
ture relations of the United States with Cuba 
contained in the Act of Congress, approved 
March 2, 1901, making appropriations for the 
Army. 

Signed at Habana, May 22, 1903. 

Ratification advised by the Senate, March 
22, 1904. 

Ratified by the President, June 25, 1904. 

Ratified by Cuba, June 20, 1904. 

Ratifications exchanged at Washington, July 
1, 1904. 

Proclaimed, July 2, 1904. 

By the President op the United States of 
America 

A Proclamation 

Whereas a Treaty between the United States 
of America and the Eepublic of Cuba embody- 



300 Appendices 

ing the provisions defining the future relations 
of the United States with Cuba contained in 
the Act of Congress approved March 2, 1901, 
was concluded and signed by their respective 
Plenipotentiaries at Habana on the twenty- 
second day of May, one thousand nine hundred 
and four, the original of which Treaty, being 
in the English and Spanish languages is word 
for word as follows : 

Whereas the Congress of the United States 
of America, by an Act approved March 2, 1901, 
provided as follows : 

Provided further, That in fulfillment of the 
declaration contained in the joint resolution 
approved April twentieth, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight, entitled, " For the recogni- 
tion of the independence of the people of Cuba, 
demanding that the Government of Spain re- 
linquish its authority and government in the 
island of Cuba, and to withdraw its land and 
naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, 
and directing the President of the United 
States to use the land and naval forces of the 
United States to carry these resolutions into 
effect," the President is hereby authorized to 
" leave the government and control of the 
island of Cuba to its people " so soon as a 



Appendices 301 

government shall have been established in said 
island under a constitution which, either as a 
part thereof or in an ordinance appended 
thereto, shall define the future relations of the 
United States with Cuba, substantially as 
follows : 

" I. That the government of Cuba shall 
never enter into any treaty or other compact 
with any foreign power or powers which will 
impair or tend to impair the independence of 
Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit 
any foreign power or powers to obtain by colo- 
nization or for military or naval purposes or 
otherwise, lodgment in or control over any 
portion of said island." 

" II. That said government shall not as- 
sume or contract any public debt, to pay the 
interest upon which, and to make reasonable 
sinking fund provision for the ultimate dis- 
charge of which, the ordinary revenues of the 
island, after defraying the current expenses of 
government shall be inadequate." 

" III. That the government of Cuba con- 
sents that the United States may exercise the 
right to intervene for the preservation of Cu- 
ban independence, the maintenance of a gov- 
ernment adequate for the protection of life, 



302 Appendices 

property, and individual liberty, and for dis- 
charging the obligations with respect to Cuba 
imposed by the treaty of Paris on the United 
States, now to be assumed and undertaken by 
the government of Cuba." 

" IV. That all Acts of the United States in 
Cuba during its military occupancy thereof 
are ratified and validated, and all lawful rights 
acquired thereunder shall be maintained and 
protected." 

11 V. That the government of Cuba will exe- 
cute, and as far as necessary extend, the plans 
already devised or other plans to be mutually 
agreed upon, for the sanitation of the cities of 
the island, to the end that a recurrence of epi- 
demic and infectious diseases may be pre- 
vented thereby assuring protection to the 
people and commerce of Cuba, as well as 
to the commerce of the southern ports of 
the United States and the people residing 
therein. ' ' 

' ' VI. That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted 
from the proposed constitutional boundaries of 
Cuba, the title thereto being left to future 
adjustment by treaty." 

" VH. That to enable the United States to 
maintain the independence of Cuba, and to pro- 



Appendices 303 

tect the people thereof, as well as for its own 
defense, the government of Cuba will sell or 
lease to the United States lands necessary for 
coaling or naval stations at certain specified 
points to be agreed upon with the President of 
the United States. 

" VIII. That by way of further assurance 
the government of Cuba will embody the fore- 
going provisions in a permanent treaty with 
the United States." 

"Whereas the Constitutional Convention of 
Cuba, on June twelfth, 1901, adopted a Eeso- 
lution adding to the Constitution of the Eepub- 
lic of Cuba which was adopted on the twenty- 
first of February, 1901, an appendix in the 
words and letters of the eight enumerated arti- 
cles of the above cited act of the Congress of 
the United States ; 

And whereas, by the establishment of the 
independent and sovereign government of the 
Republic of Cuba, under the constitution pro- 
mulgated on the 20th of May, 1902, which em- 
braced the foregoing conditions, and by the 
withdrawal of the Government of the United 
States as an intervening power, on the same 
date, it becomes necessary to embody the above 
cited provisions in a permanent treaty between 



304 Appendices 

the United States of America and the Republic 
of Cuba; 

The United States of America and the Re- 
public of Cuba, being desirous to carry out the 
foregoing conditions, have for that purpose 
appointed as their plenipotentiaries to con- 
clude a treaty to that end, 

The President of the United States of Amer- 
ica, Herbert Gr. Squiers, Envoy Extraordinary 
and Minister Plenipotentiary at Havana, 

And the President of the Republic of Cuba, 
Carlos de Zaldo y Beurmann, Secretary of 
State and Justice, — who after communicating 
to each other their full powers found in good 
and due form, have agreed upon the following 
articles : 

Aeticle I 

The Government of Cuba shall never enter 
into any treaty or other compact with any for- 
eign power or powers which will impair or 
tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor 
in any manner authorize or permit any foreign 
power or powers to obtain by colonization or 
for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, 
lodgment in or control over any portion of said 
island. 



Appendices 305 

Article II 

The Government of Cuba shall not assume 
or contract any public debt to pay the interest 
upon which, and to make reasonable sinking- 
fund provision for the ultimate discharge of 
which, the ordinary revenues of the Island of 
Cuba, after defraying the current expenses of 
the Government, shall be inadequate. 

Article III 

The Government of Cuba consents that the 
United States may exercise the right to inter- 
vene for the preservation of Cuban independ- 
ence, the maintenance of a government ade- 
quate for the protection of life, property, and 
individual liberty, and for discharging the ob- 
ligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the 
Treaty of Paris on the United States, now to 
be assumed and undertaken by the Government 
of Cuba. 

Article IV 

All acts of the United States in Cuba during 
its military occupancy thereof are ratified and 
validated, and all lawful rights acquired there- 
under shall be maintained and protected. 



306 Appendices 

Akticle V 

The Government of Cuba will execute, and, 
as far as necessary, extend the plans already 
devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed 
upon, for the sanitation of the cities of the 
island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic 
and infectious diseases may be prevented, 
thereby assuring protection to the people and 
commerce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce 
of the Southern ports of the United States and 
the people residing therein. 

Article VI 

The Island of Pines shall be omitted from 
the boundaries of Cuba specified in the Con- 
stitution, the title thereto being left to future 
adjustment by treaty. 

Article VII 

To enable the United States to maintain the 
independence of Cuba, and to protect the peo- 
ple thereof, as well as for its own defense, the 
Government of Cuba will sell or lease to the 
United States lands necessary for coaling or 
naval stations, at certain specified points, to 



Appendices 307 

be agreed upon with the President of the 
United States. 

Article VIII 

The present Convention shall be ratified by 
each party in conformity with the respective 
Constitutions of the two countries, and the 
ratifications shall be exchanged in the City of 
Washington within eight months from this 
date. 

In witness whereof, we the respective Pleni- 
potentiaries, have signed the same in duplicate, 
in English and Spanish, and have affixed our 
respective seals at Havana, Cuba, this twenty- 
second day of May, in the year nineteen hun- 
dred and three. 

H. G. Squiers. [seal.] 

Carlos de Zaldo. [seal.] 

And whereas the said Treaty has been duly 
ratified on both parts, and the ratifications of 
the two governments were exchanged in the 
City of Washington, on the first day of July, 
one thousand nine hundred and four ; 

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore 
Eoosevelt, President of the United States of 
America, have caused the said Treaty to be 



308 Appendices 

made public, to the end that the same and every 
article and clause thereof may be observed and 
fulfilled with good faith by the United States 
and the citizens thereof. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 
my hand and caused the seal of the United 
States of America to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this second 
day of July, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand nine hundred and four, and of 
[seal.] the Independence of the United 
States of America the one hundred 
and twenty-eighth. 

Theodobe Roosevelt. 
By the President : 

Alvey A. Adee, 
Acting Secretary of State. 



Appendices 309 



III 

FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL STATISTICS 
OF CUBA 

FINANCE 

The total government revenues for the year 1910 amounted to 
$41,614,694.10, and the expenditures to $40,593,392.21. These 
figures show a surplus of $1,021,301.89. 

The principal sources of revenue were: — 

Custom-house receipts $24,838,030.27 

Loan taxes 3,570,176.50 

Internal revenues 1,020,196.15 

Communications 990,440.69 

Consular fees 424,152.45 

National lottery 3,652,400.51 

The principal expenditures were: — 

Legislative Branch 840,170.32 

Judicial Branch 156,629.76 

Executive Branch 1,766,228.33 

Department of State 714,515.26 

Department of Justice 202,620.85 

Department of Government ..... 10,168,201.85 

Department of Treasury 2,724,987.98 

Department of Public Instruction . . . 4,319,998.83 
Department of Public Works .... 3,572,155.20 
Department of Agriculture, Labor, and Com- 
merce 659,188.88 

Department of Health and Charities . .' . 4,137,469.89 

On account of interior debt 737,172.50 

Interest and expenses on account of loan . . 2,933,732.56 

DEBT 

According to the message of the President, Sr. Don Jos6 Miguel 
Gomez, presented to the National Congress on April 3, 1911, 
the public debt of Cuba amounted to $62,083,100, as follows: — 

Bonds of the revolution, 1896, 6 per 

cent $2,196,585 

Redeemed 1,464,585 

$732,000 



310 



Appendices 



Interior debt, 5 per cent. . . $10,871,100 

Interior debt, 1906, V/ 2 per cent. 16,500,000 

Loan of 1904, 5 per cent. . . . $35,000,000 

Amortization 1,020,000 



Total debt 



$27,371,100 

33,980,000 
$62,083,100 



FOREIGN COMMERCE 

The total foreign commerce of Cuba for the year 1910, accord- 
ing to the Bulletin of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and 
Navigation of Habana, amounted to $254,584,601. The imports 
were $103,675,581, and the exports $150,909,020. In 1909 the 
imports were $91,447,581, and the exports $124,711,069. There 
was therefore an increase for the year 1910, as compared with 
the preceding year, of $12,228,000 in imports and $26,197,951 
in exports, or a total increase of $38,425,951. The imports and 
exports of specie, which are not included in above totals, were 
for the year 1910: imports, $4,283,617; and exports, $361,538. 

Imports by countries of origin for the past three years were: — 



Countries 


1908 


1909 


1910 


United States 

United Kingdom 

Spain 

Germany 

France 

Other American countries 

Other European countries 

All other countries 


$41,576,980 
11,724,029 
7,454,933 
7,172,358 
5,029,492 
7,287,368 
3,486,142 
1,487,293 


$46,339,198 
12,260,414 
8,019,893 
6,587,538 
5,303,478 
7,127,168 
3,892,876 
1,917,016 


$54,569,393 
12,292,219 
8,680,256 
6,542,760 
5,514,939 
8,319,929 
5,532,357 
2,223,728 


Total 


$85,218,593 


$91,447,581 


$103,675,581 



Appendices 



311 



IMPORTS 

The following table gives the imports, by articles or classes of 
articles, for the years 1908, 1909, 1910:— 





1908 


1909 


1910 


Earths, stones, and man- 








ufactures of: 








Stones and earth 


$1,001,981 


$737,563 


$989,249 


Shale, bitumen, etc. 


1,010,110 


1,069,502 


1,088,759 


Glass and crystal ware 


1,426,799 


1,115,089 


1,138,711 


Earthen ware and 








porcelain 


665,355 


768,106 


695,051 


Metals and manufactures 
of: 
Gold, silver, and plat- 














inum 


902,197 


450,533 


338,053 


Iron and steel 


4,767,384 


5,284,761 


6,163,754 


Copper 


566,473 


626,279 


809,127 


All other metals 


252,003 


245,077 


289,294 


Chemicals, drugs, dyes, 








and perfumeries : 








Natural products 


434,885 


395,830 


468,350 


Colors, paints, etc. 


474,234 


593,676 


672,781 


Chemical products 


1,635,905 


2,146,797 


2,780,939 


Essences, oils, etc. 


1,770,468 


1,886,200 


1,896,900 


Fibres and manufactures 
of: 
Cotton 








8,993,815 


9,815,695 


8,527,821 


Other vegetable fibre 


2,930,809 


3,579,710 


3,562,301 


Wool, hair, etc. 


1,022,319 


1,041,286 


1,088,225 


Silk 


780,947 


771,376 


619,704 


Paper and manufacture of: 








Paper and pasteboard 


1,329,790 


1,467,069 


1,498,369 


Books and prints 


300,902 


304,360 


314,904 


Wood and other vegetable 








substances : 








Wood 


2,060,134 


2,287,655 


2,506,090 


All other 


141,681 


141,683 


190,026 


Animals and animal prod- 








ucts: 








Animals 


690,508 


360,314 


341,112 


Hides and skins 


371,890 


483,934 


573,059 


Manufactures 


k 3,429,361 


4,249,507 


4,453,299 



312 



Appendices 





1908 


1909 


1910 


Instruments, machinery, 








and apparatus: 








Instruments 


$217,150 


$218,013 


$263,271 


Machinery 


3,959,624 


5,601,387 


8,381,763 


Apparatus 


1,612,699 


1,677,992 


2,821,968 


Foods and drinks: 








Meats 


8,318,094 


9,892,104 


11,476,815 


Fish 


1,194,282 


1,137,024 


1,310,144 


Breadstuff 


11,566,465 


12,063,000 


13,358,362 


Fruits 


580,958 


549,866 


672,674 


Vegetables 


3,500,787 


3,664,230 


4,522,049 


Beverages and oils 


2,766,074 


3,048,265 


3,296,467 


Dairy products 


1,976,544 


1,840,170 


2,524,057 


All other 


3,681,584 


3,762,569 


3,699,134 


Miscellaneous 


2,927,282 


2,663,737 


2,567,032 


Articles free of duty (coal, 








paper, pulp) 


5,956,916 


5,507,222 


7,775,967 


Total 


$85,218,593 


$91,447,581 


$103,675,581 



EXPORTS 

The exports by countries the last three years were: 





1908 


1909 


1910 


United States 

United Kingdom 

Germany 

Spain 

France 

Other American countries 

Other European countries 

All other countries 


$78,868,490 

4,775,966 

4,711,164 

958,207 

1,401,997 

2,257,077 

978,084 

652,339 


$109,407,613 
5,013,676 
4,053,960 

865,519 
1,216,275 
2.660,971 
1,081,241 

411,814 


$129,328,517 

10,696,289 

3,646,398 

727,297 

1,549,080 

3,391,216 

. 915,175 

655,058 


Total 


$94,603,324 


$124,745,304 


$150,909,020 



Appendices 



313 



The following table shows the value of the principal articles 
exported from Cuba during the last three years: — 





1908 


1909 


1910 


Animals and animal prod- 








ucts : 








Live animals 


$21,149 


$38,580 


$14,623 


Hides and skins 


906,980 


1,482,108 


1,894,738 


Products 


94,873 


72,757 


108,280 


Sugar and molasses: 








Sugar 


52,166,812 


79,130,181 


108,762,632 


Molasses 


870,836 


1,556,695 


1,477,756 


Confectionery 


42,721 


47,194 


44,007 


Fruits, grains, and vege- 








tables: 








Fruits 


2,085,771 


2,359,397 


2,098,089 


Grains and vegetables 


493,125 


674,850 


453,083 


Fishery products: 








Tortoise shells 


51,009 


64,843 


36,828 


Sponges 


280,537 


271,596 


354,855 


Mineral products: 








Asphaltum 


31,144 


47,586 


13,499 


Iron and copper ores 


2,098,460 


3,362,289 


4,330,476 


Old metals 


121,324 


82,751 


2,299 


Forest products: 








Vegetable fibres 


79,773 


74,891 


37,431 


Wood 


1,356,282 


1,516,356 


1,663,398 


Dyes and tanning 








material 




5 


40 


Tobacco: 








Unmanufactured 


19,557,107 


19,084,704 


15,450,943 


Manufactures of 


12,771,915 


12,900,490 


12,423,007 


Miscellaneous: 








Bee products 


743,386 


985,952 


703,680 


Distilled products 


339,205 


359,655 


356,037 


Other articles 


429,011 


326,718 


216,668 


Re-exportation 


61,904 


271,471 


436,651 


Total 


$94,603,324 


$124,711,069 


$150,909,020 



314 Appendices 

IV 

BAILWAYS 

At the end of 1910 the extent of railways in 
the Republic was 3,416 kilometers (2,123 
miles). This makes Cuba, in proportion to its 
size, one of the best served countries in Amer- 
ica in respect to railroad transportation. 

Cuba was one of the very first countries 
to build a railway, for there was a line put 
into operation in 1837, twelve years in advance 
of Spain, the mother country. There are four 
great systems, which have stretched their lines 
almost from one extremity of the Island to the 
other. Through trains run daily between Ha- 
bana and Santiago, but over tracks belonging 
to three different systems, and many branch 
lines from this main trunk connect the princi- 
pal ports on both the north and south coasts 
with the interior. 

The four systems in Cuba are: The United 
Eailways of Habana, the Cuba Railway, the 
Cuban Central Railway, and the Western Rail- 
way of Habana. The first and last named have 
terminal stations in Habana. 

The United Railways of Habana offer the 



Appendices 315 

first section of this through route, which ex- 
tends as far as Santa Clara. It has also 
branch lines north and south, one of which 
runs to Batabano, where it connects with reg- 
ular steamship service to the Isle of Pines. 
Other ports reached by this system are Matan- 
zas and Cardenas on the north, and the road 
is extended to within a few miles of Encar- 
nacion, on the Bay of Cienfuegos. 

The Cuba Railroad is the eastern system of 
the Habana-Santiago route running between 
the last named point and Santa Clara. It 
serves an immense and relatively new terri- 
tory in the Island, among the principal ports 
being Antilla, on Nipe Bay, which is becoming 
the centre for American activity of all kinds. 

The Cuban Central Eailroad runs from the 
ports of Concha and Caibarien on the north 
coast, and connects these two ports with Cien- 
fuegos on the south coast. A portion of this 
system is used to form part of the through line 
from Habana to Santiago. 

The main line of the Western Railway of 
Habana serves the famous tobacco district of 
Vuelta Aba jo and extends through the Prov- 
ince of Pinar del Rio. 

The Habana Central is an electric suburban 



316 Appendices 

line extending from Habana to Guines and 
Guanajay, each about thirty miles from the 
capital. 

All the railroads of the Kepublic are owned 
and operated by private companies, but the 
first railway above mentioned was originally 
projected by the Government. Although all the 
lines try to establish direct connections with 
Habana, the capital, yet that is not the centre 
of railway activity, because the tendency is 
becoming more pronounced to connect the main 
trunk line and distributing areas of the inte- 
rior of the Island with the nearest seaport. In 
this way the increasing production of Cuba can 
reach the consuming markets in the quickest 
possible manner, and passengers as well as im- 
portations can be brought with the least incon- 
venience from foreign shores. 

There was much active construction work on 
the railroads during the past year, and a num- 
ber of new concessions were granted. The 
branch lines of the Cuba Eailroad from Marti 
to Bayamo and Manzanillo, and from San Luis 
to Bayamo, a total of one hundred and thirty- 
six miles, were opened to traffic, thus putting 
the port of Manzanillo into railroad communi- 
cation with the rest of the Island and opening 



Appendices 317 

up a large section of the country in the extreme 
southwestern part. By the decree signed by 
the President in August, 1910, Casilda, on the 
south coast, and Trinidad, further inland, will 
also be placed in touch with the other cities 
in Cuba, as a new corporation is to take over 
the old Trinidad Eailway and improve it, ma- 
king a connection at Placetas del Sur with the 
main line of the Cuba Eailroad. Decrees were 
also signed for the construction of lines from 
Sagna la Grande to Coralillo, by way of 
Rancho Veloz, and from Cifuentes to La Es- 
peranza via San Diego del Valle. 

Preliminary steps were taken during the 
year, and the plans have since been approved, 
for the construction of a great railway station 
in the City of Habana to cost about $3,000,000. 
This is to be built at the upper end of the bay, 
and three new wharves, to cost $1,000,000, will 
be constructed. The building, which is to be 
constructed of American terra cotta, will be 
two hundred and forty feet long. The main 
waiting-room will be seventy-two by one hun- 
dred and twenty-eight feet and will be finished 
in Italian marble with mosaic floor. When 
completed, it will be one of the finest structures 
in the Republic. 



318 Appendices 

Electricity is used as the motive power for 
the street railways in Habana, Santiago, and 
Camaguey, and an electric line is under con- 
struction in the City of Cienfuegos. The Ha- 
bana Central lines and a section of the United 
Railways are also operated by the same power. 
The Cienfuegos, Palmira and Cruces Railway 
and Power Co. has commenced work on an elec- 
tric railroad and power enterprise which is to 
connect a number of the cities in the Province 
of Santa Clara and furnish power for electric 
light and other purposes, using the water 
power of a number of mountain streams. It 
is building the street railway in Cienfuegos, 
and will construct about three hundred and 
fifty miles of railroad altogether. 



Appendices 319 



V 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Note. The following references are confined to publications printed since 
1905. The student of Cuban history will find several books of earlier date 
valuable and interesting. 

Books 

Baedeker, Karl, firm, publishers, Leipzig. The United States, 

with excursions to Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico, and Alaska. 

4th rev. ed. 

New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1909. 724 pp. 
Berchon, Charles: A travers Cuba, recit de voyage descrip- 
tive et 6conomique. 

Sceaux: Imprimerie Charaire, 1910. 203 pp. 
Collazo, Enrique: Los americanos en Cuba. 

Habana: Impr. C. Martinez y comp., 1905. 2 v. 
Philbrick, Francis S.: Cuba. (In Encyclopaedia Britannica, 

11th ed., v. 7. New York, 1910. pp. 594-606.) 
Weyler, General: Mi mando en Cuba (10 Febrero de 1896 a 

31 de Octubre de 1897). Tomo 1. 

Madrid: Felipe Gonzalez Rojas, 1910. 
Weyler, James H. : Free Trade with Cuba. 
Wood, Leonard: Cuba. (In Browne, G. Waldo, ed. The 

New America and the Far East, v. 6. Boston, 1907. 

pp. 1217-1253.) 
Wright, Irene A. : Cuba. 

New York: The Macmillan Co., 1910. 512 pp. 

LAWS, STATUTES, ETC. 

Guide to the Material for American History in Cuban Archives 
(Publication No. 83, Papers of the Dept. of Historical 
Research [The Administration of Cuba, pp. 32-33]). 
Washington: Carnegie Institute, 1907. 142 pp. 

The Organic Municipal Law of Cuba May 29, 1908. 

Havana: Rambla and Bouza, printers. 1908. 130 pp. 

Customs Tariff of the Republic of Cuba. (From the monthly 
summary of commerce and finance for May, 1905.) 
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. 3995- 
4020 pp. 

Oficina del censo. Censo de la Republica de Cuba bajo la ad- 
ministration provisional de los Estados Unidos, 1907. 



320 Appendices 

Washington : Oficina del censo de los Estados Unidos, 1908. 
707 pp. 

Cuba: Population, History and Resources, 1907. 

Washington: United States Bureau of Census, 1909. 
275 pp. 

Provisional Governor, 1906-1909 (C. E. Magoon): Report of 
Provisional Administration from Oct. 13, 1906, to Dec. 1, 
1908. 
Havana: Rambla and Bouza, 1908-09. 2 v. 

Government of Cuba. Supplemental report, with accompany- 
ing papers, for the period from Dec. 1, 1908, to Jan. 28, 
1909. 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. 32 pp. 
(U. S. 61st Cong. 1st sess. Senate. Doc. 80.) 

Cuba: Secrelaria de agricultura, industria y comercio. Boletin 
oficial. 
. Habana, 1906-date. Monthly. 

Secrelaria de hacienda. Estadistica general. Comercio exterior. 
Habana, 1902-1907. 6 v. 

International Bureau of American Republics, Washington, D.C. 
Cuba. General descriptive data. 
Washington Government Printing Office, 1909. 16 pp. 

International Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, 
D.C. Municipal organizations in Latin America. Havana, 
Cuba. (Reprint from the Monthly Bulletin of the Inter- 
national Bureau of American Republics, April, 1909.) 

Ortiz, Fernando: Hampa afro-cubana. Los negros brujos 
(apuntes para un estudio de etnologia criminal). 
Madrid: Libraria de F. Fe, 1906. 432 pp. 

Qtjesado, Gonzalo de: Cuba. 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. 541 pp. 
"Books Relating to Cuba." 315-512 pp. 

Los derecho8 de Cuba, a la Isla de Pinos. 

Habana: Impr. de Rambla y Bouza, 1909. 31 pp. 

Rogalla von Bieberstein: Die Intervention der Vereinigten 
Staaten auf Kuba. (In Historische polilische Blaetter, v. 139, 
1907, pp. 614-627.) This vol. not in L. C. 

United States Army. Army of Cuban Pacification. Annual Re- 
port. 
Havana, 1907-1909. 

Bureau of Insular Affairs. Acts of Congress, treaties, proclama- 
tions, decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
and opinions of the attorney-general relating to non- 
contiguous territory, Cuba and Santa Domingo and to 



Appendices 321 

military affairs. 59th Congress — March 4, 1905, to March 
3, 1907. Supreme Court cases — Jan. 1, 1907, to June 1, 
1909. Opinions of attorney-general — Jan. 1, 1898, to June 
17, 1908. 
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. 442 pp. 

Bureau of Statistics (Department of Commerce and Labor) . Com- 
mercial Cuba in 1905. (From the monthly summary of 
commerce and finance for May, 1905.) 
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1905. 3899- 
4095 pp. 

Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Adjust- 
ment of title to Isle of Pines. Report (to accompany 
Executive J, 58th Cong. 2d sess.). 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906. 277 pp. 
(59th Cong. 1st sess. Senate. Doc. 205.) 

Department of Commerce and Labor. Report on Trade Condi- 
tions in Cuba. 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. 45 pp. 
(Issued in 1906 as Senate Doc. 439, 59th Cong. 1st sess., 
and also in a "Bureau Edition.") 

United States. General Staff. Second section. Road Notes, Cuba. 
1909. 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. 610 pp. 
(Its publication No. 16.) 

Wilson, Jamks H.: Free Trade with Cuba. 

Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. 19 pp. 
(U. S. 61st Cong. 1st sess. Senate. Doc. 17.) 

ARTICLES AND PERIODICALS 

1906. Robinson, Albert G.: The Causes of Unrest in Cuba 
and Porto Rico. Independent, March 15, 1906, v. 60: 
612-615. 

Aldama, M. Carillo: The Cuban Government's Side. Inde- 
pendent, Sept. 20, 1906, v. 61: 663. 

1906. Hale, Henry: The Cuban Sugar Situation. Moody's 
Magazine, Sept., 1906, v. 2:380-386. 

1906. Puente, Fatjstino G.: Causes of the Cuban Insurrec- 
tion. North American Review, Sept. 21, 1906, v. 183: 538- 
540. 

1906. Herrick, E. P.: Cuban Marriage Customs. Southern 
Workman, Sept., 1906, v. 147:292-297. 

1906. Foster, John W.: The Annexation of Cuba. Inde- 
pendent, Oct. 25, 1906, v. 61: 905-968. 
Howland, Harold J.: Saving a People from Themselves: Im- 



322 Appendices 

pressions of Cuba under American Intervention. Outlook, 
Oct. 27, 1906, v. 84: 455-464. 

1906. Dennison, Edgar W. : Transportation in Cuba. World 
To-day, Oct., 1906, v. 11:1071-1076. 

1906. Inglis, William: The Future in Cuba. North Ameri- 
can Review, Nov. 16, 1906, v. 183: 1037-1040. 

1906. Willey, Day Allen: Sugar Making in Cuba. Scien- 
tific American, Nov. 3, 1906, v. 95:321-322. 

1906. Earle, F. S. : Agricultural Cuba. World To-day, Nov., 
1906, v. 11: 1175-1184. 

1906. Shepardson, Francis W.: American Guardianship of 
Cuba. 2. Rockwood, John G. : Rescuing Cuba from the 
Cubans. World To-day, Nov., 1906, v. 11: 1197-1203. 

1906. Adams, Frederick U.: Cuba, its Condition and Out- 
look. World's Work, Nov., 1906, v. 13:8237-8242. 

1906. Adams, Frederick U. : Cuba, its Condition and Out- 
look. World's Work and Play, Nov., 1906, v. 8: 531-543. 

1906. Fernow, B. E., and Norman Taylor: The High Sierra 
Maestra (of Cuba). Forestry Quarterly, Dec, 1906, v. 4: 
239-273. 

1907. Cespedes, Jose M.: Problemas de la politica cubana. 
Nuestro Tiempo, Jan., 1907, v. 7: 139-144. 

1907. Bellet, Daniel: Les Ri chesses forestieres de Cuba. 

Socieie de geographie commerciale de Paris, April, 1907, v. 

29:229-238. 
1907. Conant, Charles A.: Our Duty in Cuba. North 

American Review, May 17, 1907, v. 185: 141-146. 

1907. Buchanan, Lloyd: The Sure Eventual Fate of Cuba. 
Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, June, 1907, v. 79: 813-815. 

1907. Ledeganck, H. F.: Bilder aus Cuba. Deutsche Mo- 
natsschrift, Sept., 1907, v. 12:762-771. 

1907. Bullard, R. L.: How Cubans Differ from Us. North 
American Review, Nov., 1907, v. 186:416-421. 

1908. Forbes-Lindsay, C. H.: Our Colonial Empire: Cuba: 
The Land of Promise. World To-day, Feb., 1908, v. 14: 
141-150. 

1908. Iron Mining in Cuba. Iron Age, April 9, 1908, v. 81: 
1149-1157. 

1908. Figueras, Francisco: Patriot's Appeal for his Coun- 
try. Journal of American History, July-Sept., 1908, v. 2: 
409-440. 

1908. Atkins, Edwin F. : Tariff Relations with Cuba. Ameri- 



Appendices 323 

can Academy of Political and Social Science. Annals, Sept., 
1908, v. 32:57-65. 
1909. Gannett, H. : Conditions in Cuba as Revealed by the 
Census. National Geographic Magazine, Feb., 1909, v. 20: 
200-202. 

Du Pat, William A.: Road Building by the United States in 
Cuba. Scientific American, Feb. 13, 1909, v. 100: 136-138. 

1909. Johnston, H. : Scenery of Cuba. Geographical Journal, 
June, 1909, v. 33: 629-668. 

1909. Austin, H. A. : Cuba's Future. North American Review, 
June, 1909, v. 189:857-863. 

1909. Barrett, John: Cuba, Hayti, and the Dominican Re- 
public. Independent, Aug. 26, 1909, v. 67: 464-470. 

1909. Dennison, Edgar W.: Cuban Development. Interna- 
tional Bureau of American Republics. Bulletin, Aug., 1909, 
v. 29: 365-371. 

1909. Johnston, Sir Harry: The Scenery of Cuba, Hayti, 
and Dominican Republic. International Bureau of American 
Republics. Bulletin, Sept., 1909, v. 29:582-599. 

1909. Johnston, Sir Harry: An Englishman's Impression of 
American Rule in Cuba. McClure's Magazine, Sept., 1909, 
v. 33:496-504. 

1909. Quesada, G. de: Cuba's Claim to the Isle of Pines. 
North American Review, Nov., 1909, v. 190:594-604. 

1910. Welliver, Judson C: The Annexation of Cuba by the 
Sugar Trust. Hampton's Magazine, March, 1910, v. 24: 
375-388. 

1910. Bullard, R. L.: Education in Cuba. Educational Re- 
view, April, 1910, v. 39:378-384. 

1910. Wright, I. A.: Citrus Fruit Culture in Cuba. Interna- 
tional Bureau of American Republics. Bulletin, June, 1910, 
v. 30: 961-975. 

1910. Cuba. International Bureau of American Republics. 
Bulletin, July, 1910, v. 31: 135-151. 

1910. Brooks, Sydney: Cuba. Fortnightly Review, Nov., 
1910, v. 94: 798-806. Reprinted in Living Age, Dec. 10, 
1910, v. 267: 653-661. 



INDEX 



Aborigines, 24-27. 

Adams, President John 
Quincy, 58. 

Agricultural industries, 216- 
248; native method of cul- 
tivation, 218-219 ; neg- 
lected opportunities, 220 
et seq.; fruit culture, 224- 
229; coffee, 229, 230; fu- 
ture farming, 231 et seq.; 
stock, 236-238; corn, 238- 
240 ; American farmers, 
241-242; hints to settlers, 
241, 248. 

Americans in Cuba, 118, 119, 
241, 242. 

Annexation, 156-165. 

Antilla, 274, 275, 315. 

Arrieta, D. Martin Calvo de, 
255-256. 

Atkins, E. F„ 181-183. 

Bacon, Assistant Secretary, 

79. 
Bagley, Ensign, 269. 
Bahia de Cochinos, 4. 
Bahia Honda, 3, 10, 54, 266. 
Banes, 275. 

Baracoa, 6, 10, 11, 27, 28, 270. 
Batabano, 3, 10, 29, 249, 265, 

315. 
Bayamo, 28, 66, 273, 316. 
Bellamar, Caves of, 83, 264, 

268. 
Bituminous deposits, 213-215. 



Blaine, James G., 57. 

Blanco, General, 74. 

Bliss, General Tasker H., 

282. 
Bock, Gustavo, 193-194, 198. 
Bucarely, Don Antonio, 34. 

Caibarien, 315. 

Camaguey, 7, 271-272, 318; 

Hotel, 240, 271-272. 
Camaguey, Province of, 3, 4, 

6, 7, 11, 55, 82-83, 189, 200, 

211, 270-272. 
Camaroncids Mine, 201. 
Camp Columbia, 19. 
Campos, Martinez, 65-71, 73, 

74. 
Canovas, 71. 
Cape Cruz, 3, 5. 
Cape Maisi, 2, 5. 
Cape San Antonio, 2, 3. 
Cardenas, 3, 10, 11, 54, 268- 

269, 315. 
Casilda, 317. 
Cauto River, 4, 6, 8. 
Central Boston, 275. 
Central Preston, 172-174, 177, 

276. 
Cerro, The, 43. 
Cervera, Admiral, 75. 
Chinamen, 114-118. 
Cienfuegos, 3, 7, 10, 99, 269- 

270, 318. 
Cienfuegos, Bay of, 315. 
Cifuentes, 317. 



325 



326 



Index 



Clark, Dr. V. S., 126. 


Finances, 57 and Appendix. 


Cleveland, President, 60. 


Flora, 12. 


Climate, 13-15. 


Fruit Culture, 224-229. 


Colorado River, 7. 




Columbus, Christopher, 23, 


Garcia, 58, 73. 


24, 168, 200, 259. 


Garcia y Montes, Jose' M., 


Concha, 315. 


282. 


Commerce, 34, 46-50, 310-313. 


Gibara, 10. 


Commercial Code, 18, 19. 


Gold, 212, 213. 


Commercial Convention be- 


Golfo de Buena Esperanza, 2. 


tween United States and 


Golfo de la Broa, 2, 4. 


Cuba, 281-298. 


Gomez, Jose Miguel, 82, 147, 


Conditions of to-day, 120 et 


309. 


seq. 


Gomez, Maximo, 58, 65, 67-70, 


Copper, 210-212. 


73. 


Coralillo, 317. 


Government, 17, 18. 


Cordillera de los Organos. 


Grant, President, 59. 


See Organ Mountains. 


Guajiro, 97-101. 


Crittenden, Colonel, 54-55, 


Guanabacoa, 29. 


260. 


Guana jay, 316. 


Cuban laborer, various opin- 


Guantanamo, 5. 


ions of the, 126-146. 


Guantanamo Bay, 5, 6, 10. 


Cubans, 80-101 ; whites of 


Guantanamo, Valley of, 272- 


the cities, 83-90; Cuban 


273. 


women, 91-96; peasantry, 


Guines, 264, 316. 


96-101; negroes, 102-109. 




Cuchillas Mountains, 6. 


Habana, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 


Cuevitas, 7. 


20, 28, 36, 37, 40, 43, 46, 47, 




55, 68-69, 70, 73, 74, 79, 83, 


Daiquiri, 204-206, 276. 


87, 88, 108-109, 113, 116, 


Day, William R., 60. 


119, 135, 143, 147, 155, 159, 


Dewey, Admiral, 75. 


188, 189-190, 248, 249-262, 


Dumois, 275. 


263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 271, 




281, 282, 314, 315, 316, 317, 


El Cobre, 28, 210-211. 


318; Arsenal, 254; Atares 


El Morilla, 55. 


Castle, 55, 260; Cathedral, 


Encarnacion, 315. 


259 ; Central Park, 253, 254, 


Espeletas, The, 36. 


261; Convent of San Fran- 


Estavan, 105. 


cisco, 259; Dominican Con- 


Exports and imports, 310-313. 


vent, 260; El Templete, 




254-255; La Fuerza, 249, 


Fauna, 12, 13. 


250, 257-259; La Punta, 


Felton, 202, 276. 


249, 250, 260 ; Malecon, 260 ; 


Ferdinand and Isabella of 


Miramar Hotel, 260; Morro 


Spain, 23. 


Castle, 249, 250, 260; New 


Ferdinand VII, 38. 


Railway Station, 317; Plaza 



Index 



327 



de Armas, 254-255, 257-261 ; 
Puerta de la Punta, 254; 
Streets and Avenues, 254- 
257, 261-262. 

Habana, Province of, 5, 7, 11, 
69, 187, 188, 200, 263, 267. 

Hay, John, 287. 

Hayes, Dr. C. W., 8-10. 

History, 22-62; discovery of 
the Island, 22-26; extermi- 
nation of aborigines, 24-27; 
Conquistadores, 27, 28 ; 
early settlements, 27, 28; 
introduction of slavery, 30; 
colonial laws, 32, 33; begin- 
nings of prosperity, 34-37; 
education, 35-36; good gov- 
ernment, 34-36, 40-42; rev- 
olutionary beginnings, 37- 
39 ; Spanish immigration, 
41-42; land tenure, 43-45; 
commercial conditions, 34, 
46-50; taxation, 50-52; 
growth of revolutionary 
spirit, 52-56; Lopez con- 
spiracy, 54, 55; Treaty of 
Zanjon, 55, 56; War of 
Independence, 57-76; inter- 
est of United States in 
Cuban affairs, 58-62, 64, 65, 
75, 76; occupation of the 
Island by the United States, 
76-82 ; Palma administra- 
tion, 78-80. 

Holguin, 27, 212. 

Hoyo Colorado, 263. 

Humboldt, 268. 

Iron ore, 201-204, 215. 
Isle of Pines, 2, 3, 365-266, 
302, 315 

Judiciary, 18. 
Karutz, Dr. Paul, 240. 



Labor in Cuba, 125-146. 

La Esperanza, 317. 

La Gloria, 272. 

Las Casas, 26, 34-36, 269. 

Las Doce Leguas Islands, 3. 

Las Minas, 211. 

Las Pozas, 55. 

La Torre, Marques de, 34. 

Liebeg, 219. 

Lopez, Narcisco, 54-55. 

Lujan, Gabriel de, 29. 

Maceo, Antonio, 58, 64, 65, 67, 

69-70, 73, 105, 267. 
Madruga, 264. 

Magoon, Charles E., 82, 156. 
Maine, The, 61, 70. 
Manganese, 207-210. 
Manila Bay, Battle of, 75. 
Manzanillo, 10, 207, 273, 316. 
Marianao, 263-264. 
Marti, 316. 
Marti, Jose, 65. 
Matanzas, 10, 29, 268, 315. 
Matanzas, Province of, 5, 11, 

69, 170, 189, 200, 211, 262, 

267-269. 
Mayari, 201. 
Mayari River, 274. 
McKinley, President, 61-62, 

75. 
Mechanical industries, 123, 

124. 
Military, 19, 20. 
Minerals, 11, 12, 200-215. 
Morgan, Henry, 265. 

Napoleon I, 37. 
Negroes, 30-32, 102-109. 
Nipe Bay, 10, 172, 201, 202, 

274-277, 315. 
Nuevitas, 3, 10. 

O'Reilly, Count, 34. 
Organ Mountains, 7, 188, 266- 
267. 



328 



Index 



Oriente, Province of, 4, 5, 6, 
8, 11, 12, 124, 170, 186, 187, 
188-189, 201, 204, 209, 212, 
230, 246, 272-278. 

Oviado, 26. 

Palma, Dr. Estrada, 78-80, 
147, 148, 282. 

Pepper, Charles M., 102. 

Peter Martyr, 26. 

Philip II, 32. 

Physical features, 1-10; geo- 
graphical and strategical 
position, 1-2; dimensions 
and formation, 2, 3; polit- 
ical divisions, 4-6; moun- 
tain system, 4-7; harbors, 
8-10. 

Pinar del Rio, 7. 

Pinar del Rio, Province of, 
5, 7, 69, 73, 186, 187, 188, 
192, 194-196, 266-267, 315. 

Placentas del Sur, 317. 

Piatt Amendment, 77, 78 and 
Appendix. 

Polk, President, 58. 

Population, 16, 17; negroes, 
30-32, 102-109; Cubans, 80- 
101; Spaniards, 109-114; 
Chinamen, 114-118; Ameri- 
cans, 118, 119. 

Porter, Robert P., 208-209. 

Postal Service, 20. 

Potrerillo, Mount, 7. 

Preston, 177, 275-276. 

Providencia Sugar Mill, 264. 

Provinces, 4-6, 263-277; Ha- 
bana, 263-265; Pinar del 
Rio, 266, 267; Matanzas, 
267-269; Santa Clara, 269, 
270; Camaguey, 270-272; 
Oriente, 272-277. 

Puerto Principe, 28, 211. 

Puerto Principe, Province of. 
See Camaguey, Province of. 

Punta Tabaco, 172. 



Railways, 314-318. 

Rancho Veloz, 317. 

Remedios, 28. 

Reptilia, 13. 

Roja, Captain-General, 52. 

Romano, Isle of, 3. 

Roosevelt, President, 78-79, 

156, 297. 
Rousseau, 38, 94. 

Saetia, 276. 

Sagua la Grande, 317. 

Sampson, Captain, 75. 

Sancti Spiritus, 7, 28. 

San Diego del Valle, 317. 

Sanitation, 15, 16, 204-207. 

San Juan, Battle of, 75. 

San Juan River, 9. 

San Luis, 316. 

Santa Clara, 7, 29, 269, 315. 

Santa Clara, Conde de, 36. 

Santa Clara, Province of, 4, 

6, 11, 170, 187, 188, 189, 200, 

211, 269-270, 318. 
Santa Cruz, 255. 
Santiago de Cuba, 5, 9, 10, 28, 

46, 75, 201, 202, 203, 207, 

208, 210, 215, 250, 273, 314, 

315, 318. 
Santiago de Cuba, Province of. 

See Oriente, Province of. 
Shafter, General, 75. 
Settlers, Hints to intending, 

241-248. 
Sierra Cristal, 6. 
Sierra de Cubitas, 7. 
Sierra Madre, 5. 
Sierra Maestra, 5, 201, 202, 

203. 
Sierra Nipe, 6. 
Someruelos, Marques de, 36, 

48. 
Sores, De, 259. 
" Sotes de Boliver," 38. 
Soto, Hernando de, 28, 258. 
Spanish Residents, 109-114. 



Index 



329 



Squiers, Herbert G., 304. 

Sugar, 57, 166-184; growth of 
the industry, 169-171; de- 
scription of a sugar estate, 
171-177; costs and returns 
in sugar operation, 178-180; 
prospects of the industry, 
181-184. 

Tacon, General, 40, 254. 

Taft, William H., 79-82. 

Taxation, 50-52, 150, 151. 

Telegraph, 20, 21. 

Tobacco industry, 185-199; to- 
bacco districts, 187-189; 
manufacture, 189-190 ; meth- 
ods of culture, 190-192; 
costs and returns of culti- 
vation, 192-195 ; prospects 
of the industry, 195-197, 
199. 

Trinidad, 7, 28, 270, 317. 



Treaty between United States 

and Cuba, 299-308. 
Turquino, Mount, 5. 

Vaca, Cabeza de, 105. 

Vedado, 262. 

Velasquez, Diego, 23, 27, 28, 

249, 270. 
Villanueva, Count, 33, 40. 
Vives, General, 40. 
Voltaire, 38, 94. 
Vuelta Abajo, 185, 187-188, 

267, 315. 

Weyler, General, 60, 65, 69, 
70-74. 

Yara, 55. 

Yumuri Gorge, 10, 268. 

Zaldo y Beurmann, Carlos de, 

282, 304. 
Zanjon, Treaty of, 55-56, 65. 
Zapata Swamp, 4. 
Zayas, Alfredo, 82. 




R1959 



LIBRARY 




